Fish discards in South Korea
South Korea: Fish discards was 229,517 in 2018. ▲ Rising
Latest (2018)
229,517
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
10th
of 161 countries
All-time high
795,443
in 1986
All-time low
156,133
in 1950
Years of data
69
1950–2018
Fish discards in South Korea, 1950–2018
Source: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 229,517 for fish discards in 2018.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 37.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fish discards in South Korea peaked at 795,443 in 1986 and was at its lowest, 156,133, in 1950.
That places South Korea 10th out of 161 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 69 years of available data.
Fish discards in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 156,133 | — |
| 1951 | 172,179 | +10.3% |
| 1952 | 178,676 | +3.8% |
| 1953 | 170,499 | -4.6% |
| 1954 | 168,301 | -1.3% |
| 1955 | 171,513 | +1.9% |
| 1956 | 205,231 | +19.7% |
| 1957 | 219,335 | +6.9% |
| 1958 | 219,000 | -0.2% |
| 1959 | 217,069 | -0.9% |
| 1960 | 207,770 | -4.3% |
| 1961 | 240,937 | +16.0% |
| 1962 | 248,776 | +3.3% |
| 1963 | 256,261 | +3.0% |
| 1964 | 285,959 | +11.6% |
| 1965 | 305,873 | +7.0% |
| 1966 | 308,336 | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 353,453 | +14.6% |
| 1968 | 372,240 | +5.3% |
| 1969 | 410,809 | +10.4% |
| 1970 | 463,178 | +12.7% |
| 1971 | 536,958 | +15.9% |
| 1972 | 593,610 | +10.6% |
| 1973 | 630,646 | +6.2% |
| 1974 | 707,447 | +12.2% |
| 1975 | 684,781 | -3.2% |
| 1976 | 709,714 | +3.6% |
| 1977 | 733,892 | +3.4% |
| 1978 | 727,948 | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 740,646 | +1.7% |
| 1980 | 723,123 | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 771,576 | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 748,183 | -3.0% |
| 1983 | 771,613 | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 778,586 | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 765,352 | -1.7% |
| 1986 | 795,443 | +3.9% |
| 1987 | 707,290 | -11.1% |
| 1988 | 684,465 | -3.2% |
| 1989 | 667,824 | -2.4% |
| 1990 | 688,137 | +3.0% |
| 1991 | 698,687 | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 752,915 | +7.8% |
| 1993 | 693,549 | -7.9% |
| 1994 | 663,415 | -4.3% |
| 1995 | 654,950 | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 636,557 | -2.8% |
| 1997 | 628,351 | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 600,740 | -4.4% |
| 1999 | 568,071 | -5.4% |
| 2000 | 562,551 | -1.0% |
| 2001 | 529,793 | -5.8% |
| 2002 | 539,335 | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 504,524 | -6.5% |
| 2004 | 493,719 | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 444,336 | -10.0% |
| 2006 | 416,235 | -6.3% |
| 2007 | 387,888 | -6.8% |
| 2008 | 368,795 | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 365,531 | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 365,960 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 431,824 | +18.0% |
| 2012 | 345,748 | -19.9% |
| 2013 | 336,707 | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 378,568 | +12.4% |
| 2015 | 282,491 | -25.4% |
| 2016 | 242,085 | -14.3% |
| 2017 | 230,989 | -4.6% |
| 2018 | 229,517 | -0.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 229,517 is above the median for high income countries, which is 8,028, 28.6× the median. (61 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 229,517 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5,675, 40.4× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 187,794 | 156,133 | 219,335 | 10 |
| 1960s | 299,041 | 207,770 | 410,809 | 10 |
| 1970s | 652,882 | 463,178 | 740,646 | 10 |
| 1980s | 741,346 | 667,824 | 795,443 | 10 |
| 1990s | 658,537 | 568,071 | 752,915 | 10 |
| 2000s | 461,271 | 365,531 | 562,551 | 10 |
| 2010s | 315,988 | 229,517 | 431,824 | 9 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More agriculture & rural data for South Korea
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.2516 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0146 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 530.46 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1591 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1883 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fish discards in South Korea?
- Fish discards in South Korea was 229,517 in 2018, according to Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fish discards recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 795,443 in 1986.
- What is the lowest fish discards recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 156,133 in 1950.
- How does South Korea rank for fish discards?
- South Korea ranks 10th out of 161 countries with data for 2018.
- Is fish discards rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea 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
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.