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Mapped: Where the World’s Fish Are Caught, by Ocean
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We now farm more fish than we catch, however, wild-caught fish still make up 49% of the world’s fish production. In 2022, trawlers across five oceans delivered 81 million tonnes of wild-caught fish to tables around the world.
In this graphic, we visualize how this figure breaks down by each ocean. Fish caught in inland water bodies (rivers and lakes) have been excluded from the map. Data is sourced from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), current up to 2022.
The Pacific Ocean is Fishing Central
Nearly 60% of all oceanic wild-caught fish are captured in the Pacific Ocean. In 2022, this worked out to about 47 million tonnes. Per the FAO, most of the catch in the Pacific is tuna or allied species.
| Ocean | Wild-Caught Fish (Metric Tonnes) |
% of Oceanic Wild-Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Ocean | 47M | 58.41% |
| Atlantic Ocean | 21M | 26.28% |
| Indian Ocean | 12M | 14.77% |
| Southern Ocean | 418K | 0.52% |
| Arctic Ocean | 19K | 0.02% |
Of course, this is also a matter of size: the Pacific covers 64 million square miles, about one-third of the entire planet.
However, its varying ecosystems also support a wide variety of fish species, making it highly productive for fishing. Several nutrient-rich areas off the coasts of Peru, California, and Japan are prime fishing hotspots.
Far behind the Pacific, the Atlantic Ocean ranks second (21 million tonnes), and the Indian Ocean ranks third (12 million tonnes). Aside from tuna, major fish caught in the Atlantic include cod and salmon. For the Indian Ocean, it’s snapper and mackerel.
Naturally, the oceans around the poles don’t see as much fishing activity as temperatures are much lower, making it impossible for many species to thrive.
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Fishing is critical to many Pacific Island economies. Check out the Countries that Rely on Agricultural Exports to see which ones.
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