Fish discards in United States
United States: Fish discards was 674,076 in 2018. ▼ Falling
Latest (2018)
674,076
Change on year
down 9.9%
World rank
2nd
of 161 countries
All-time high
1.42 million
in 1991
All-time low
674,076
in 2018
Years of data
69
1950–2018
Fish discards in United States, 1950–2018
Source: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 674,076 for fish discards in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 69 years on record.
That represents a change of down 9.9% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fish discards in United States peaked at 1.42 million in 1991 and was at its lowest, 674,076, in 2018.
That places United States 2nd out of 161 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 69 years of available data.
Fish discards in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 828,842 | — |
| 1951 | 971,686 | +17.2% |
| 1952 | 980,952 | +1.0% |
| 1953 | 1.09 million | +10.7% |
| 1954 | 1.09 million | +0.2% |
| 1955 | 1.02 million | -6.6% |
| 1956 | 935,899 | -8.0% |
| 1957 | 881,343 | -5.8% |
| 1958 | 861,403 | -2.3% |
| 1959 | 946,881 | +9.9% |
| 1960 | 1.01 million | +6.9% |
| 1961 | 765,838 | -24.3% |
| 1962 | 780,826 | +2.0% |
| 1963 | 909,054 | +16.4% |
| 1964 | 822,589 | -9.5% |
| 1965 | 892,228 | +8.5% |
| 1966 | 809,862 | -9.2% |
| 1967 | 907,212 | +12.0% |
| 1968 | 842,640 | -7.1% |
| 1969 | 801,147 | -4.9% |
| 1970 | 867,548 | +8.3% |
| 1971 | 861,035 | -0.8% |
| 1972 | 843,322 | -2.1% |
| 1973 | 732,426 | -13.1% |
| 1974 | 740,858 | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 699,338 | -5.6% |
| 1976 | 850,911 | +21.7% |
| 1977 | 1.01 million | +18.6% |
| 1978 | 969,473 | -4.0% |
| 1979 | 927,659 | -4.3% |
| 1980 | 950,701 | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 833,524 | -12.3% |
| 1982 | 998,645 | +19.8% |
| 1983 | 885,871 | -11.3% |
| 1984 | 1.08 million | +22.2% |
| 1985 | 1.01 million | -6.4% |
| 1986 | 960,126 | -5.2% |
| 1987 | 1.24 million | +29.5% |
| 1988 | 1.10 million | -11.8% |
| 1989 | 1.22 million | +11.7% |
| 1990 | 1.19 million | -2.8% |
| 1991 | 1.42 million | +19.7% |
| 1992 | 1.29 million | -9.6% |
| 1993 | 1.16 million | -9.7% |
| 1994 | 1.09 million | -6.5% |
| 1995 | 1.13 million | +3.7% |
| 1996 | 1.07 million | -4.7% |
| 1997 | 1.17 million | +9.3% |
| 1998 | 936,950 | -20.2% |
| 1999 | 889,034 | -5.1% |
| 2000 | 963,268 | +8.3% |
| 2001 | 897,860 | -6.8% |
| 2002 | 932,771 | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 946,728 | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 1.00 million | +6.0% |
| 2005 | 805,515 | -19.8% |
| 2006 | 890,747 | +10.6% |
| 2007 | 797,479 | -10.5% |
| 2008 | 725,877 | -9.0% |
| 2009 | 840,395 | +15.8% |
| 2010 | 798,361 | -5.0% |
| 2011 | 867,632 | +8.7% |
| 2012 | 789,999 | -8.9% |
| 2013 | 703,691 | -10.9% |
| 2014 | 706,750 | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 713,884 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 706,857 | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 748,104 | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 674,076 | -9.9% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 674,076 is above the median for high income countries, which is 8,028, 84.0× the median. (61 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 959,818 | 828,842 | 1.09 million | 10 |
| 1960s | 854,360 | 765,838 | 1.01 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 850,208 | 699,338 | 1.01 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.03 million | 833,524 | 1.24 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.14 million | 889,034 | 1.42 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 880,460 | 725,877 | 1.00 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 745,484 | 674,076 | 867,632 | 9 |
Countries ranked near United States
More agriculture & rural data for United States
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.96 % change on previous year (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0094 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 673.66 current US$ per person (2021)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.1831 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1981 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 0.9% (2021)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 0.9% (2021)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fish discards in United States?
- Fish discards in United States was 674,076 in 2018, according to Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fish discards recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.42 million in 1991.
- What is the lowest fish discards recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 674,076 in 2018.
- How does United States rank for fish discards?
- United States ranks 2nd out of 161 countries with data for 2018.
- Is fish discards rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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.