India produced 9 percent of the world’s aquatic animals in 2024, ranking as the second-largest producer globally behind China. The figures appear in the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026” report.
India also led the world in inland water catches. The country pulled 2.2 million tonnes of fish from rivers, lakes and other freshwater systems. Bangladesh came in second, at 1.4 million tonnes.
Global fisheries and aquaculture production reached 235 million tonnes in 2024. That figure includes 195 million tonnes of aquatic animals and 40 million tonnes of algae. Output rose 5.2 percent compared with 2022.
Aquaculture drove most of that growth. Farmed aquatic animals and algae hit a record 142 million tonnes in 2024. Five countries supplied most of it: China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh together produced 84 percent of the world’s farmed aquatic animals.
In aquaculture alone, India ranked second globally, contributing 12 percent of total farmed output.
Sustainability Concerns Persist
The report flagged a decline in fish stock health. The share of marine fish stocks fished within biologically sustainable limits fell to 62.4 percent in 2023, down from 64.5 percent in 2021.
FAO said part of the drop comes from changes in how stocks are assessed. But it said some of the decline reflects genuine losses in specific regions.
The picture looks better when measured by catch volume instead of number of stocks. In 2023, 72.6 percent of landings from assessed stocks came from sustainably managed fisheries. Larger commercial fisheries tend to be governed more effectively, the report found.
Still, the broader trend is a warning sign as global demand for fish keeps rising.
About 67 percent of global aquatic animal production came from marine waters in 2024, split between wild-caught and farmed fish. The remaining 33 percent came from inland waters, where aquaculture supplied most of the output.
Who Eats the Fish
More than 90 percent of aquatic animals caught or farmed worldwide end up as food. Per capita availability of aquatic animal food averaged 21.1 kilograms in 2023, rising to a preliminary estimate of 21.3 kilograms in 2024.
That global average hides sharp regional gaps. Asia recorded the highest availability, at 26.3 kilograms per person. Africa averaged just 9.1 kilograms. North America, Europe and Oceania all fell between 20 and 22 kilograms, close to the global figure. Latin America and the Caribbean lagged at 10.1 kilograms.
Country-level gaps run even wider. Some populations eat almost no fish in a year. Others approach 100 kilograms per person.
Africa’s numbers reveal a paradox. Despite having the lowest per capita availability of aquatic food in 2023, the continent ranked second globally for the share of animal protein that comes from aquatic sources, at 19 percent. Fish remains a critical, affordable protein source across the continent even where overall supply is thin.
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