Latest additions to the ASFA Thesaurus

The ASFA thesaurus has been updated with the latest terminology relevant to aquatic science, fisheries and aquaculture. The July release of the ASFA thesaurus brings the total number of concepts to 5 131, available in up to 42 languages, thanks to the efforts of Agrovoc editors and ASFA working group members. The efforts of ASFA Working Group members ensure that new terms are added to the thesaurus on a monthly basis, meaning OpenASFA records can be indexed with keywords which are highly relevant to the research being produced by ASFA's network of over 100 partners, collaborating centres and associates.   

Chemical compounds, rocks, DNA and more

The latest additions to the ASFA thesaurus are presented in the below table. As well as terms related to chemical compounds, rocks, DNA and renewable energy, several important fisheries and oceanography concepts have also been added. These include abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (also known by its alternative term: ALDFG). Being able to use this term to index research and data related to this concept will assist policy makers and researchers in locating resources that will further their understanding of the problem and help to find solutions. In remote sensing, two concepts have been added - to understand the difference between "air-borne remote sensing" and "space-borne remote sensing" browse the ASFA thesaurus and read their definitions here.

Contribute your area of expertise

If you would like to use the ASFA thesaurus in your information system, suggest a new concept, update a definition or otherwise contribute to its development, please email: [email protected] 

New terms added in latest release of ASFA Thesaurus: 

About the ASFA Thesaurus: as sub-scheme of Agrovoc, a larger thesaurus covering all areas of FAO’s interests, all concepts present in ASFA are also present in Agrovoc, however ASFA can manage its own hierarchy and has its own SKOSMOS instance, allowing the thesaurus to be browsed online here. The ASFA Thesaurus is maintained and developed by a working group made up of ASFA partners. Each working group member gives their time voluntarily, contributing their language, subject or vocabulary management skills to improve the thesaurus.

As of July 2023, the ASFA thesaurus has:

• 5 131 concepts
• Is available in up to 42 languages
• 32 new concepts were added in the July release