The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020

(tonnes)
Percentage of
global catch
Countries having a significant effect on the group
(> 1% of total catch of group)
Increasing catch
37
6 830 955
58.7
China (34%), India (21%), Cambodia (7%), Indonesia 
(6%), Nigeria, Russian Federation, Mexico, Philippines, 
Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Chad, Mozambique, Iran 
(Islamic Republic of), Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Congo
Decreasing catch
28
691 672
5.9
Brazil (33%), Thailand (27%), Viet Nam (16%), Turkey, 
Madagascar, Japan, United States of America, Peru, 
Poland, Czechia
Stable catch 
27
893 401
7.7
United Republic of Tanzania UR (35%), Democratic 
Republic of the Congo (26%), Mali (11%), Kazakhstan, 
Niger, Finland, Benin, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic 
of), Iraq, Nepal, Argentina, Togo, Romania
No clear trend
17
1 464 573
12.6
Bangladesh (72%), Egypt (16%), Zambia, Canada, 
Burundi, Germany, Republic of Korea
Excluded from 
analysis
43
1 756 309
15.1
Myanmar (50%), Uganda (22%), Ghana (5%), Lao 
People’s Democratic Republic (4%), South Sudan, 
Senegal, Sudan, Central African Republic, Guinea, 
Cameroon, Colombia, Paraguay, Zimbabwe, 
Mauritania, Turkmenistan, Papua New Guinea, Gabon
SOURCE: FAO.
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PART 1 
WORLD REVIEW
employ preservation and packaging to optimize 
the utilization of fish, increase shelf life and 
diversify products. Moreover, improved utilization 
of fisheries and aquaculture production reduces 
loss and waste, and can help reduce the pressure 
on the fisheries resources and foster the 
sustainability of the sector.
In recent decades, the fish sector has become 
more complex and dynamic, with developments 
driven by high demand from the retail 
industry, species diversification, outsourcing 
of processing, and stronger supply linkages 
between producers, processors and retailers. 
Expansion of supermarket chains and large 
retailers worldwide has increased their role 
as key players in influencing market access 
requirements and standards. 
Moreover, expansion in the global marketing, 
trade and consumption of fish products in recent 
decades (see the sections Fish consumption, 
p. 65, and Fish trade and products, p. 73) has 
been accompanied by a significant development 
in food quality and safety standards, improved 
nutritional attributes and loss reduction. To meet 
these food safety and quality standards and 
ensure consumer protection, stringent hygiene 
measures have been adopted at the national, 
regional and international levels, based on the 
Codex Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery 
Products (Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2016) 
and its guidance to countries on practical aspects 
of implementing good hygiene practices and the 
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) 
food safety management system. 
Products, utilization and trends
In 2018, about 88 percent (or over 156 million 
tonnes)
9
of the 179 million tonnes of total 
fish production was utilized for direct human 
consumption (
Figure 23
), while the remaining 
12 percent (or about 22 million tonnes) was used 
for non-food purposes. Of the latter, 80 percent 
9
In this section, all data in million tonnes are expressed in terms of 
live weight equivalent. 
FIGURE 23
UTILIZATION OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION, 1962–2018
Live, fresh or chilled
Frozen 
Cured
Prepared or preserved
Non-food purposes 
0
30
60
90
120
150
210
180