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.

Fish discards in United States

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

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

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.

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

1 Russia 2.01 million compare
3 China 609,409 compare
4 Vietnam 585,344 compare
5 Japan 414,441 compare

See the full ranking of 161 places →

More agriculture & rural data for United States

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 223.72 billion current US$ (2021)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 0.9% (2021)
Rural population 67.70 million (2025)
Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
Rural population 19.8% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2024)
Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 0.9% (2021)
Share of GDP from agriculture 0.9% (2021)
Land under cereal production 54.08 million hectares (2024)

All data for United States →

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

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.