User:Pelagic/Incubator/Stub – Codes for Australian Aquatic Biota

Codes for Australian Aquatic Biota (CAAB) is a scheme of eight-digit identifiers for aquatic organisms in the Australian region, and a database of information about those species. Originally developed for species of commercial interest, it has been expanded to cover a wide range of taxa.

CAAB was developed and is maintained by the Australian CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation). The codes are used by government and industry groups for fisheries management and marine biology.

Codes have a two-digit category, followed by six additional digits for the family and species, usually presented with a space between the second and third digits.

History
CAAB's predecessor was FISHLIST, which was in use from the 1970s to circa 1990. It used six-digit codes for fish and some commercially-important non-fish species. The first three digits indicated the family, and the last three were the species number within that family.

CAAB codes for fishes were published in printed form up to 1994. CAAB version 1 was developed at the CSIRO Division of Fisheries by Yearsley, Last, and Morris from 1990 to 1995. CAAB v1 introduced the two-digit category prefix with 37 for fishes and 00 for "other".

The version 2 database was developed by Rees and Gowlett-Holmes of CSIRO Marine Research. It is currently maintained by CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Division. Version 2 added structural changes and new fields, including cross-references to other systems such as ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System) and FishBase.

Code structure
Codes consist of a two-digit major category, a three-digit family code, and a three-digit species code.

Category codes include:
 * 10–36 – invertebrates
 * 23 – molluscs
 * 28 — crustaceans
 * 37 – fishes
 * 39–41 – other marine vertebrates
 * 39 – reptiles
 * 40 – birds
 * 52–55, 70 – seaweeds and micro algae
 * 63 – sea grasses and mangroves

Usage

 * The Australian List of Standard Aquatic Plant Names defines approved commercial names referenced to both the scientific name and the CAAB code.
 * New South Wales Department of Primary Industries maps DPI catch-reporting codes to CAAB codes for fisheries regulation.
 * CATAMI registers CAAB codes for physical features.

Examples

 * 37 296021 northern sand flathead (category 37, fishes; family 37 296, Platycephalidae, flatheads)
 * 23 257006 Sydney rock oyster (category 23, molluscs; family 23 257, Ostreidae, oysters)
 * 28 821004 Balmain bug (category 28, Crustacea - Malacostraca; family 28 821, Scyllaridae, shovel-nosed and slipper lobsters). Previous CAAB version 1 interim code 00 703028, from FISHBASE code 703028.
 * 54 101903 Fucus spp., unspecified member of genus; and the non-local species 54 101006 Fucus vesiculosus, imported for food. (Category 54, Phaeophyta, brown algae; family 54 101, Fucaceae).
 * 11 148003 Irukandji jellyfish (category 11, Cnidaria; family 11 148 Carukiidae, box jellyfish)