The fishing industry is important because it supplies food and nutrients, supports jobs and livelihoods, and connects local producers with global markets. It includes both capture fisheries, which harvest wild aquatic animals, and aquaculture, which farms aquatic organisms. Its benefits depend on healthy ecosystems, effective management and fair access to food and income.
How important is the fishing industry to the global food supply?
In its 2026 summary, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that global fisheries and aquaculture production reached 235 million tonnes in 2024. That total included 195 million tonnes of aquatic animals. FAO says 89 percent of aquatic animal production went to human consumption and supplied at least one-fifth of animal protein consumption for 3.1 billion people. FAO’s SOFIA 2026 summary reports these figures.
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Aquatic foods also provide nutrients beyond protein, including omega-3 fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. The mix varies by species, so no single nutrient profile applies to every fish or aquatic food. FAO’s 2024 SOFIA summary describes their nutritional contribution.
Why inland fisheries matter
Inland fisheries can be especially important where access to other nutritious foods is constrained. FAO reports that at least 43 percent of global inland fish capture came from 50 low-income food-deficit countries. It says small-scale inland catches generally go to local human consumption, with an exception for African small inland-pelagic fish. This describes a specific segment of fisheries, not every inland catch or market. FAO’s inland fisheries page provides this context.
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How does fishing support jobs and livelihoods?
The industry supports work in harvesting and farming, as well as processing and related activities. FAO estimated 61.8 million people were employed in the primary fisheries and aquaculture sector in 2022. Its 2026 summary gives a broader figure: more than 600 million livelihoods supported worldwide. These numbers measure different things; the livelihood estimate should not be read as a count of people directly employed in primary production. FAO’s employment figure and its broader livelihood estimate use those distinct scopes.
Women’s work is particularly prominent in processing. In FAO’s 2022 data, women accounted for 24 percent of the primary-sector workforce and 62 percent of workers in the processing subsector. FAO also identifies wage differences, insufficient recognition and gender-based violence as concerns; a large workforce contribution does not by itself show that work is equally paid or secure. FAO’s 2024 summary reports these figures and issues.
Inland fisheries also support capture and post-harvest work, but the estimates are uncertain: FAO gives ranges of 16.8–20.7 million people employed in capture and 8–38 million in post-harvest work. The wide ranges reflect, among other issues, hidden catch and under-recorded contributions by women. They are estimates, not precise census counts. FAO’s inland fisheries page explains the limitations.
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Why are capture fisheries and aquaculture both important?
They use different production methods and play complementary roles. Capture fisheries harvest wild stocks; aquaculture farms aquatic organisms. FAO reports that in 2024 aquaculture produced 103 million tonnes of aquatic animals, while capture fisheries produced about 92 million tonnes. Capture output has remained within a range of 86–94 million tonnes since the late 1980s, while aquaculture has driven most production growth over that period. These figures show changing contributions, not that one system has simply replaced the other. FAO’s SOFIA 2026 summary reports the production figures.
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How does fishing contribute to economies and trade?
Fisheries and aquaculture connect production to processing, distribution and markets. FAO values international trade in aquatic animal products at $184 billion in 2024 and says more than one-third of production is traded internationally. That scale demonstrates how integrated the sector is across borders; it does not establish how profits are divided within supply chains or whether trade improves food access in a particular community. FAO’s 2026 summary reports the trade figures.
Inland catches also have local economic value that can be missed when catch is not recorded. On its undated inland fisheries topic page, FAO estimates reported inland freshwater fish catches at approximately USD 26 billion in value, rising to USD 39 billion when estimated hidden catch is included. The same page estimates an additional USD 65–79 billion in non-market use value from recreational fishing. These are FAO estimates from a page without a stated publication date, not current-year valuations. FAO’s inland fisheries page provides the estimates.
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What are the limits and risks?
The industry’s importance depends on maintaining the ecosystems and stocks on which it relies. FAO reports that 72.6 percent of landings in 2023 came from biologically sustainable stocks. This is a landings-weighted measure; it is not the percentage of all assessed fish stocks that are sustainable. FAO’s 2026 summary reports the indicator.
FAO identifies climate change, environmental degradation, economic shocks and geopolitical shifts as pressures on sector performance and sustainability. Under high-emissions scenarios, it projects exploitable fish biomass will decline by more than 10 percent by 2050 in several regions. That is a scenario-based projection for several regions, not an observed decline everywhere. The same FAO summary describes these pressures and projections.
Management needs differ across wild capture and farming. FAO points to stronger governance, better data and monitoring, management of shared stocks, and action against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. For aquaculture, it emphasizes science-based governance, spatial planning, innovation and climate-smart or integrated systems. FAO’s SOFIA 2026 summary outlines these priorities.
In short, fishing matters not only for the volume of food it produces, but also for nutrition, employment, local livelihoods and trade. Those gains are not automatic: ecological limits, unequal working conditions and uneven food access shape who benefits and whether the sector can keep contributing over time.
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