What is fish discards in Japan?

Fish discards in Japan was 414,441 in 2018, according to Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest fish discards recorded in Japan?

The highest recorded value was 1.37 million in 1985.

What is the lowest fish discards recorded in Japan?

The lowest recorded value was 414,441 in 2018.

How does Japan rank for fish discards?

Japan ranks 5th out of 161 countries with data for 2018.

Is fish discards rising or falling in Japan?

Over the last ten years it is down 28.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Japan data come from?

The figures come from Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Fish discards. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Fish discards in Japan

Name: Fish discards in Japan
Creator: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Japan: Fish discards was 414,441 in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)

414,441

Change on year

down 1.3%

World rank

5th

of 161 countries

All-time high

1.37 million

in 1985

All-time low

414,441

in 2018

Years of data

1950–2018

Fish discards in Japan, 1950–2018

Source: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Japan recorded 414,441 for fish discards in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 69 years on record.

The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 28.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fish discards in Japan peaked at 1.37 million in 1985 and was at its lowest, 414,441, in 2018.

Japan ranks 5th of 161 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 69 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	595,222	497,227	840,132	10
1960s	734,791	640,063	852,406	10
1970s	986,471	917,326	1.03 million	10
1980s	1.18 million	1.05 million	1.37 million	10
1990s	974,713	805,356	1.22 million	10
2000s	624,684	516,684	768,672	10
2010s	487,780	414,441	568,324	9

Countries ranked near Japan

2 United States 674,076 compare
3 China 609,409 compare
4 Vietnam 585,344 compare
6 Mexico 406,756 compare
7 Peru 326,784 compare
8 Brazil 298,333 compare

See the full ranking of 161 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Japan

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 40.15 billion current US$ (2024)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.0% (2024)
Rural population 9.50 million (2025)
Rural population growth -1.9% (2025)
Rural population 7.7% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.0% (2024)
Share of GDP from agriculture 1.0% (2024)
Land under cereal production 1.84 million hectares (2023)

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is fish discards in Japan?: Fish discards in Japan was 414,441 in 2018, according to Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest fish discards recorded in Japan?: The highest recorded value was 1.37 million in 1985.
What is the lowest fish discards recorded in Japan?: The lowest recorded value was 414,441 in 2018.
How does Japan rank for fish discards?: Japan ranks 5th out of 161 countries with data for 2018.
Is fish discards rising or falling in Japan?: Over the last ten years it is down 28.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?: The figures come from Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Fish discards. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 69 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Fish discards
Source: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 161 places, 9,371 data points, 1950–2018
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Discards are animals thrown back (alive or dead) into the sea after being caught during fishing activities. This represents bycatch (fish caught unintentionally) that is not brought ashore for use.