Seafood

Seafood is a plant or animal originally from the sea that is used for food by humans.http://www.dictionary.com The number of varieties of seafood is ever changing, as new ways are discovered to eat plants or fish previously thought inedible, and new plants and fish are consistently being discovered in various parts of the world.

The four main categories of seafood are fish, roe, shellfish, and plants. Whether these are going to be served is going to depend on the region of the world and body of water they originatedhttp://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/fish/seafood/seafood-glossary.asp. For example Japan is a country that is surrounded entirely by water and has access to an almost unparalleled variety of seafood. It is not uncommon for all 4 of the main categories to be served in a single dish, and depending on the sushi dish it can all be on one bite of foodhttp://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/fish/seafood/sushi-glossary.asp. Whereas in the seas surrounding Alaska, shellfish and regular fish are abundant. Crab, lobster, halibut and salmon are fished in large numbers, therefore in Alaska and surrounding areas you will find a higher number of these types of seafood availablehttp://www.squidoo.com/alaska-seafood.

Fishing dates back as far as 60,000 to 70,000 years ago when Africans would carve tools from bones and use them to fish. Fishing has also played an integral part in humans expanding the globe. As people learned to more efficiently get their food from the sea, they were free to go on treks for as far as they wished since all they needed to do was to follow the coasthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5398850.stm.

Though it has slowed down significantly throughout history, whaling was also a major part of the seafood and fishing industry. Whaling dates back thousands of years to native tribes in Russia, Europe, and North America who used to butcher and use the entire whale. The Makah, a Native American tribe, would use Humpback whales for food and Gray whales for oil. When on a whale hunt they use to throw harpoons that had ropes with inflated seal bladders attached to them into the whale which kept it from diving. Once the whale died tribesmen would dive into the ice cold water and sew its mouth shut which would prevent air from escapinghttp://sportales.com/hunting/history-of-whaling/.

The whaling industry has since almost stopped entirely, and now only exists as "scientific study" and on the black market.

Crustaceans are any aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton.http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=crustacean Crustacean seafood can be wildly popular in places, especially lobsters and crabs. Some different types of crab that are cooked include blue crab, dungeness crab, snow crab and king crab.

Shrimp are also a type of crustacean that are eaten as seafood. They are frequently mixed in with other foods to create pasta or salad dishes, and can be also eaten cooked or raw.http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/fish/seafood/seafood-glossary.asp#index

Mollusks are clams, mussels, and abalone. However, both an octopus and a squid are considered mollusks as well.

Mussels and clams are types of mollusks with a shell. These types of seafood are frequently put into pasta to create an extra element to an Italian dish. They can also be served on their own, with seasonings to help enhance their tastehttp://www.weloveseafood.com/clams_and_mussels_recipes.html

The most common type of squid found at many restaurants is calamari. Many eateries served fried calamari as an appetizer, normally with a spicy red sauce. Sometimes spices may be added to make the calamari spicy as well.http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1499.asp