Fishing statistics at a glance
Fishing statistics tell a story that is bigger than leisure and bigger than a single coastline.
The numbers span global production, employment, sustainability, U.S. commercial landings, and recreational participation, which makes the category useful for understanding both food systems and local economies.
Fast facts
- 223.2 million tonnes of global fisheries and aquaculture production were reached in 2022, up 4.4% from 2020 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- 130.9 million tonnes came from global aquaculture in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- 61.8 million people worked in the worldwide primary sector in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- U.S. anglers took more than 204 million fishing trips in 2023 (NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States).
- U.S. commercial fishermen landed 8.4 billion pounds in 2023, valued at $5.1 billion (NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States).
At a glance
| Category | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global fisheries and aquaculture production, 2022 | 223.2 million tonnes | FAO SOFIA 2024 |
| Global aquaculture production, 2022 | 130.9 million tonnes | FAO SOFIA 2024 |
| Global primary-sector employment, 2022 | 61.8 million people | FAO SOFIA 2024 |
| U.S. commercial landings, 2023 | 8.4 billion pounds | NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States |
| U.S. recreational fishing trips, 2023 | More than 204 million | NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States |
| U.S. saltwater recreational fishing jobs, 2023 | 694,041 jobs | NOAA Fisheries: Recreational Fishing |
Table of contents
- Global fishing statistics and production
- Employment and livelihoods
- Sustainability and stock health
- Fleet size, catch, and consumption
- U.S. fishing statistics
- What the numbers suggest
Global fishing statistics and production
Global fishing statistics show a sector that keeps expanding in volume while also changing in composition.
223.2 million tonnes of fisheries and aquaculture production were reached in 2022, and that was 4.4% higher than 2020 (FAO SOFIA 2024). Within that total, global aquaculture alone reached 130.9 million tonnes in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
Aquatic animal aquaculture production reached 94.4 million tonnes in 2022, and aquatic animals made up 51% of total aquatic animal production in the same year (FAO SOFIA 2024). That pairing matters because it shows how much of the supply picture is now driven by managed production rather than capture alone.
Key production signals
- Global fisheries and aquaculture production: 223.2 million tonnes in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- Global aquaculture production: 130.9 million tonnes in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- Aquatic animal aquaculture production: 94.4 million tonnes in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- Aquatic animals as a share of total aquatic animal production: 51% in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
Big number: 223.2 million tonnes is the clearest headline in the dataset, because it captures the scale of the sector before you even split it into fishing, farming, or end use (FAO SOFIA 2024).
Production also matters because the dataset shows how quickly the sector has accumulated supply over time. In 2020, total fisheries and aquaculture production reached 214 million tonnes, including 178 million tonnes of aquatic animals and 36 million tonnes of algae (FAO SOFIA 2022). Human-consumption aquatic production reached 157 million tonnes that same year (FAO SOFIA 2022).
That means the sector is not just large; it is layered. Some output goes to direct human consumption, some to aquatic animal production, and some to algae, which broadens the role of fisheries and aquaculture in food and commodity markets.
Employment and livelihoods
Fishing statistics are also labor statistics.
In 2022, the worldwide fisheries and aquaculture primary sector employed 61.8 million people (FAO SOFIA 2024). The dataset also gives a nearby benchmark for 2020: 62.8 million people, meaning 2022 was 1.0 million lower (FAO SOFIA 2024). That does not suggest a collapse; it shows a sector that remains very large in absolute employment, but still sensitive to shifts in production structure, reporting coverage, and regional composition.
The 2020 FAO snapshot put primary-sector employment at 58.5 million people and said women were 21% of that workforce (FAO SOFIA 2022). By 2022, women were 24% of the global primary-sector workforce where sex-disaggregated data were available (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture). Women were also 53% full-time in the sector in 2022, up from 32% in 1995 (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
Workforce facts that stand out
- Global primary-sector employment: 61.8 million people in 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- Comparison point: 62.8 million people in 2020, or 1.0 million more than 2022 (FAO SOFIA 2024).
- Women represented 24% of the global primary-sector workforce where sex-disaggregated data were available (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
- Women were 53% full-time in the sector in 2022, up from 32% in 1995 (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
- Women were 62% of the post-harvest sector workforce where data were available (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
A useful way to read these numbers is to separate production from participation.
Production tells you how much fish and aquatic food is produced. Employment tells you how many people depend on that production. On that second point, the dataset says about 500 million people rely on small-scale fisheries for livelihoods (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture), and 53 million people are involved in subsistence fishing within small-scale fisheries (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
That is a much wider dependency chain than the primary-sector employment figure alone suggests.
Small-scale fisheries matter most
- Small-scale fisheries support 90% of the capture-fisheries workforce (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
- Small-scale fisheries contribute an estimated 40% of the global catch (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
- About 500 million people rely on small-scale fisheries for livelihoods (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
- 53 million people are involved in subsistence fishing within small-scale fisheries (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
- 45% of those subsistence fishers are women (FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
Those figures are a reminder that fishing statistics are never only about tonnage. They also reflect household income, local food access, seasonal labor, and gendered participation in coastal and inland communities.
Sustainability and stock health
The dataset gives two useful views of sustainability: stock status and landing composition.
In 2019, 64.6% of fish stocks were within biologically sustainable levels (FAO SOFIA 2022). That share was 1.2 percentage points lower than in 2017 (FAO SOFIA 2022). At the same time, 82.5% of total landings came from sustainably fished stocks in 2019, which was 3.8 percentage points higher than in 2017 (FAO SOFIA 2022).
Those two percentages are related but not identical, and it is worth keeping the distinction clear.
Sustainability by the numbers
| Metric | 2017 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels | 65.8% | 64.6% | -1.2 percentage points |
| Share of total landings from sustainably fished stocks | 78.7% | 82.5% | +3.8 percentage points |
The longer-run trend is even more striking. Global sustainable fish stocks fell from 90% in 1974 to 65.8% in 2017 (FAO SOFIA 2020). That is a major structural change over several decades, and it frames why sustainability is central to every discussion about future supply.
The dataset also says about 35% of the global harvest was lost or wasted (FAO SOFIA 2020). That statistic matters because the supply challenge is not only about catching or farming more fish. It is also about keeping more of what is already produced in the value chain.
Why it matters: A sector can increase production and still underperform if a large share of the harvest is lost, wasted, or detached from sustainable stock bases (FAO SOFIA 2020; FAO SOFIA 2022).
Fleet size, catch, and consumption
Fishing statistics also help explain how the sector moves from water to plate.
In 2018, the world had 4.6 million fishing vessels, down 2.8% from 2016 (FAO SOFIA 2020). Asia had 3.1 million fishing vessels, which was 68% of the global fishing fleet (FAO SOFIA 2020). The global motorized fleet was 2.9 million vessels, or 63% of the global fleet (FAO SOFIA 2020).
Fleet snapshot
| Fleet measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global fishing vessels, 2018 | 4.6 million | FAO SOFIA 2020 |
| Asia fishing vessels, 2018 | 3.1 million | FAO SOFIA 2020 |
| Asia share of global fleet, 2018 | 68% | FAO SOFIA 2020 |
| Global motorized fleet, 2018 | 2.9 million vessels | FAO SOFIA 2020 |
| Motorized share of global fleet, 2018 | 63% | FAO SOFIA 2020 |
The consumption side is just as important. Global food-fish consumption grew at 3.1% annually from 1961 to 2017, outpacing 1.6% annual population growth over the same period (FAO SOFIA 2020). Per-capita fish consumption rose from 9.0 kg in 1961 to 20.3 kg in 2017 (FAO SOFIA 2020), with preliminary 2018 per-capita consumption at 20.5 kg (FAO SOFIA 2020).
Fish also played a major nutritional role in 2017:
- Fish provided about 3.3 billion people with nearly 20% of their average per-capita animal-protein intake (FAO SOFIA 2020).
- Fish accounted for about 17% of total animal protein consumed globally in 2017 (FAO SOFIA 2020).
- Fish accounted for about 7% of all proteins consumed globally in 2017 (FAO SOFIA 2020).
- Aquaculture supplied 52% of fish available for human consumption in 2018 (FAO SOFIA 2020).
The consumption trend helps explain why aquaculture keeps appearing in the production data. If demand rises faster than population, and aquaculture supplies more than half of fish available for human consumption, then farmed output becomes a major lever for balancing supply and access.
U.S. fishing statistics
The U.S. figures in the dataset are especially useful because they split commercial and recreational activity.
In 2023, U.S. commercial fishermen landed 8.4 billion pounds of seafood, valued at $5.1 billion (NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States). That same year, U.S. anglers took more than 204 million fishing trips and caught an estimated 1.1 billion fish (NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States). Recreational anglers released 65% of the fish they caught in 2023 (NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States).
U.S. commercial and recreational comparison
| U.S. metric | 2023 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial landings volume | 8.4 billion pounds | NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States |
| Commercial landings value | $5.1 billion | NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States |
| Recreational fishing trips | More than 204 million | NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States |
| Recreational fish caught | 1.1 billion fish | NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States |
| Recreational release rate | 65% | NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States |
The economic footprint is even larger when the broader industry effects are counted.
- U.S. saltwater recreational fishing supported 694,041 jobs in 2023 (NOAA Fisheries: Recreational Fishing).
- It generated $145.4 billion in sales impacts (NOAA Fisheries: Recreational Fishing).
- It generated $78.4 billion in value-added impacts (NOAA Fisheries: Recreational Fishing).
- It generated $47.1 billion in income impacts (NOAA Fisheries: Recreational Fishing).
For the commercial side, commercial fishing and the seafood industry generated $173.4 billion in U.S. sales impacts and supported 1.4 million jobs in 2023 (NOAA Fisheries FEUS 2023). Commercial fisheries landings revenue was $5.1 billion, down 16% from 2022, while commercial fisheries landings volume rose 2% in 2023 (NOAA Fisheries FEUS 2023). Recreational fishing generated $145 billion in sales impacts in 2023, a 2% increase from 2022 (NOAA Fisheries FEUS 2023).
What the U.S. numbers show
- Recreational fishing is massive in participation terms, with more than 204 million trips (NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States).
- Commercial fishing is smaller in direct landing revenue than the broader seafood industry footprint suggests, which is why the impact measures matter (NOAA Fisheries FEUS 2023).
- The recreational and commercial sides both support large employment totals, but they do so through different channels and with different economic multipliers (NOAA Fisheries: Recreational Fishing; NOAA Fisheries FEUS 2023).
What the numbers suggest
A few clear patterns emerge when you pull the dataset together.
First, fishing and aquaculture are now inseparable in global production terms. The 2022 total of 223.2 million tonnes is only understandable when you include aquaculture’s 130.9 million tonnes and the scale of aquatic animal production (FAO SOFIA 2024).
Second, employment remains enormous even when annual totals move by only small amounts. The shift from 62.8 million primary-sector workers in 2020 to 61.8 million in 2022 is modest relative to the overall base, but the sector still supports tens of millions of workers and hundreds of millions of dependent livelihoods (FAO SOFIA 2024; FAO Gender in fisheries and aquaculture).
Third, sustainability remains the key constraint. The decline from 90% sustainable stocks in 1974 to 65.8% in 2017 shows a long-term pressure point, even as the 2019 landings share from sustainably fished stocks reached 82.5% (FAO SOFIA 2020; FAO SOFIA 2022).
Fourth, the U.S. dataset shows how fishing statistics extend beyond harvest volume. Angling trips, release rates, jobs, sales impacts, and income impacts all belong in the same conversation because they describe the broader economy around fishing, not just the catch itself (NOAA Fisheries: Fisheries of the United States; NOAA Fisheries: Recreational Fishing; NOAA Fisheries FEUS 2023).
Finally, the consumption data show why demand keeps growing. Fish consumption rose from 9.0 kg per capita in 1961 to 20.3 kg in 2017, while aquaculture supplied 52% of fish available for human consumption in 2018 (FAO SOFIA 2020). That combination explains why production, sustainability, and labor statistics are now tightly linked.
The simplest read on fishing statistics is this: the sector is large, globally important, and increasingly shaped by aquaculture, while still depending on sustainable stocks, efficient supply chains, and a workforce that reaches far beyond the boats themselves.