How do you define seafood?

Question

If you catch and eat any edible aquatic animal from a river, lake, etc. could you also call it seafood?

Answer 1

Lets define two terms From the Houghton-Mifflin American heritage Dictionary:

1) SEA·FOOD
Noun:

I. Edible fish or shellfish from the sea.

2) SEA
Noun:

I. The continuous body of salt water covering most of the
earth's surface, especially this body regarded as a
geophysical entity distinct from earth and sky. Abbr. - S.
or
II. A tract of water within an ocean.
or
III. A relatively large body of salt water completely or partially
enclosed by land.
or
IV. A relatively large landlocked body of fresh water.

Therefore according to the definition of a SEA #IV, The presence of salt in the water is not a requisite for it to be named a sea.

Therefore I conclude that seafood would be edible fish or shellfish coming from any body of water large enough to fit the definition given for a 'sea'.

Is a trout caught in the local river seafood? Technically no, but I would call it seafood because it's fish! What would one call it then if it does not fit the technical definition of seafood? Just fish I suppose. Instead of saying "we are eating seafood tonight" one would simply say "We are having freshwater trout tonight" because it was not caught in water that can be defined in the truest sense as a sea.

Answer 2

Yes, but you wouldn't be correct.
Seafood is food which comes from the Sea. A sea is defined as a body of salt water which covers a large area, or an inland fresh water body of considerable size. Therefore, any animal from a river cannot be a seafood, and most lake animals would also be disqualified.

However, by definition, there is such a thing as freshwater seafood.

Edit: I would like to thank Alduos for posting the entire definition located at the link provided below. This should save you a little time, and explain what I mean about how sea food is not just salt water.

Answer 3

Okay this is a good question. Seafood is any food that comes from rivers, bodies of water, and the ocean. Tilapia is seafood. Dolphin and whales are seafood. Turtles are seafood. Eels, crab, octopus, lobster are seafood. Shrimp, sea lamprey, crayfish are seafood. Alligator, frog, snails are seafood. Believe it or not these dictionary guys are wrong. You can't define seafood by words!

Answer 4

Any critter that lives only in the water is seafood.

Answer 5

Sea =ocean

Answer 6

seafood= food from the sea or from the ocean: fish, algae, and so on

Answer 7

no, only seafood if it comes from the sea (salt water)

Answer 8

living things from the sea which are edible such as fish, weeds, shellfish, etc.

Answer 9

Food that used to live in the sea. Shrimp, fish, crab... stuff like that...

Answer 10

food from the ocean (lakes NOT included)