fishery

noun

fish·​ery ˈfi-shə-rē 

plural fisheries

1

: the occupation, industry, or season of taking fish or other sea animals (such as sponges, shrimp, or seals) : fishing

2

: a place for catching fish or taking other sea animals

3

: a fishing establishment

also : its fishermen

4

: the legal right to take fish at a particular place or in particular waters

5

: the technology of fishery

—usually used in plural

Examples of fishery in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And focus on important things like fisheries, clean water, clean air, great local coastal communities, coastal economies, keeping our working waterfronts running. —Dan Morrison, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025

In addition to preserving natural ecosystems and the sustainable fisheries that depend on them, reefs may help to protect coastlines from storms and floods, which will become ever more urgent as climate change and rising sea levels give rise to more dangerous storms. —JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025

Matt Hahn, a fisheries manager who covers the North Platte for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, just learned the toll catch and release fishing was taking on that river’s trout. —Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2025

Many of those tests led to generations of illnesses from radiation exposure and the long-term poisoning of drinking water and fisheries. —Brian Bennett, Time, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

fishery

noun

fish·​ery ˈfish-(ə-)rē 

plural fisheries

1

: the activity or business of fishing

2

: a place or establishment for catching fish