Fisheries and Aquaculture Basics

Fisheries and Aquaculture

• Fisheries involve catching, processing, and selling fish and shellfish, while aquaculture involves the cultivation of aquatic animals and plants.
• Aquaculture can be done in fresh water and marine environments, and involves the natural or controlled cultivation of shellfish, fish, and seaweed.

Types of Fisheries

• There are two main types of fisheries: inland fisheries and marine fisheries.

Global Fisheries and Aquaculture Production

• In 2022, total fisheries and aquaculture production reached a record 182 million tonnes.
• Global capture fisheries production (excluding algae) was 90.88 million tonnes (49%) in 2022, with 79.82 million tonnes from marine waters and 11.36 million tonnes from inland waters.
• Aquaculture production accounted for 91.12 million tonnes (51%) in 2022.

Regional Production

• Asia produced almost two-thirds of total inland fisheries, followed by Africa.
• India was the top inland fisheries producer in 2022, overtaking China.
• China is the world's largest exporter of aquatic animal products, followed by Norway and Viet Nam.

Global Consumption

• Over 157 million tonnes (89%) of aquatic animals were used for human consumption.
• Global consumption of aquatic foods (excluding algae) has increased at an average annual rate of 3.0% since 1961.
• The average per capita consumption of aquatic foods is 20.2 kg, more than double the average of 9.9 kg in the 1960s.

Aquaculture Production

• Production of aquatic animals from aquaculture in 2022 amounted to 91.12 million tonnes (46.8% of total production).
• This includes 54.1 million tonnes of fin fish, 17.1 million tonnes of molluscs, 7.9 million tonnes of crustaceans, and 9,38,500 tonnes of other aquatic animals.

Top Producers

• The top seven capture producers (China, Indonesia, Peru, India, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and Viet Nam) accounted for almost 50% of total global capture production.
• The top 20 producers accounted for almost 74% of total global capture production.