A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Pair trawling	Trawling by two vessels steaming in parallel with the net towed between them. Very large nets can be held open and towed in this manner. The net is generally hauled alternately aboard the two vessels for processing of the catch.
Pelagic	Associated with surface or middle depths of a body of water, rather than the sea floor. This term is usually applied to free-swimming species, such as tunas and sharks: cf. demersal.
Penaeid prawn	Prawns of the infraorder Penaeidea. This infraorder includes the bulk of the prawns taken in commercial quantities in Australia. Female penaeid prawns release their eggs directly into the sea.
PFA	Professional Fishing Association
Phenotypic	Derived from phenotype, which means the visible or otherwise measurable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism.
PIAC	Pearling Industry Advisory Committee
Precautionary principle	Where there are threats of serious irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation. In the application of the precautionary principle, public and private decisions should be guided by: (i) careful evaluation to avoid, wherever practicable, serious or irreversible damage to the environment; and (ii) an assessment of the risk-weighted consequences of various options.
Principal Fishing Areas	Approximate diagrammatic representation of the main fishing areas of a fishery or fishing activity
Productivity	When applied to fish stocks the term productivity gives an indication of the birth, growth and mortality rates of a stock. A highly productive stock is characterised by high birth, growth and mortality rates, and can sustain high exploitation rates.
PSMAC	Purse Seine Management Advisory Committee
Purse seine	A fishing method capable of harvesting large quantities of surface-schooling pelagic fish by surrounding the school with a net. A line which passes through rings on the bottom of the net and can be tightened to close the net so that the fish are unable to escape.
PV	Patrol Vessel
R & D	Research & Development
Recreational fishing	Fishing for pleasure, to get a feed of fish for oneself or one's family and friends.
Recruit [recruitment]	A fish that has just become susceptible to a fishery; e.g. a recruit to the Australian southern bluefin tuna surface fishery is one to two years old, whereas a recruit to the Japanese longline fishery for southern bluefin tuna is three to four years old.
Recruitment overfishing	Occurs in circumstances where an increase in fishing effort from current levels will cause a decline in recruitment to a fishery.
RFAC	Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee
RFTF	Recreational Fishing Trust Fund
RIRDC	Rural Industries Research and Development Council
RLIAC	Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee
RRFAC	Regional Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee

Derived from: Department of Fisheries publications; Fishery Status Reports. Resource Assessments of Australian Commonwealth Fisheries. 1998. Bureau of Resource Sciences, Department of Primary Industries and Energy, Canberra ACT; and Henderson's Dictionary of Biological Terms, published by Longman Scientific and Technical Press, 1989 (10th edition).