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.

Fish discards in South Korea

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

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

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.

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

7 Peru 326,784 compare
8 Brazil 298,333 compare
9 Indonesia 296,902 compare
11 India 193,273 compare
12 Spain 174,809 compare
13 Morocco 161,670 compare

See the full ranking of 161 places →

More agriculture & rural data for South Korea

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 27.42 billion current US$ (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.5% (2025)
Rural population 9.73 million (2025)
Rural population growth -0.2% (2025)
Rural population 18.8% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
Land under cereal production 776,099 hectares (2023)

All data for South Korea →

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

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.