Statizoid

Global aquaculture production and wild fish used for animal feed by country

Some wild fish catch is processed into fishmeal and oils for animal feed – this is used for land-based livestock and fish farms (aquaculture). Efficiency improvements in aquaculture, and changes in the diets of farmed fish means production has increased rapidly, without increasing inputs from wild fish.

Countries reporting
69
Highest
4.13 million tonnes
Peru
Lowest
0.0924 tonnes
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Median
10,695 tonnes
Years covered
66
1950–2015
Data points
4,524

What the numbers show

Global aquaculture production and wild fish used for animal feed is currently reported for 69 countries. The highest value is 4.13 million tonnes in Peru; the lowest is 0.0924 tonnes in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The median across all reporting countries is 10,695 tonnes, and the mean is 211,528 tonnes.

Over the past decade 29 countries rose and 40 fell. The largest increase was in Georgia (up 452.3%), and the largest decrease in Vanuatu (down 100.0%).

Global aquaculture production and wild fish used for animal feed: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Peru 4.13 million tonnes 2015 down 61.0% volatile
2 China 3.12 million tonnes 2015 up 20.5% volatile
3 United States 636,016 tonnes 2015 down 2.0% rising
4 Thailand 624,751 tonnes 2015 down 57.3% volatile
5 Chile 533,908 tonnes 2015 down 84.0% volatile
6 Norway 517,875 tonnes 2015 down 30.9% volatile
7 Iceland 513,628 tonnes 2015 down 33.0% volatile
8 Vietnam 505,059 tonnes 2015 up 32.0% volatile
9 Morocco 440,505 tonnes 2015 up 132.2% volatile
10 Japan 413,298 tonnes 2015 up 26.6% volatile
11 Denmark 369,514 tonnes 2015 up 56.3% volatile
12 Mexico 356,692 tonnes 2015 down 8.7% volatile
13 India 346,521 tonnes 2015 up 10.0% volatile
14 Faroe Islands 288,825 tonnes 2015 up 41.4% volatile
15 Turkey 272,443 tonnes 2015 up 80.2% volatile
16 South Africa 239,238 tonnes 2015 down 16.5% volatile
17 Russia 193,409 tonnes 2015 down 39.4% volatile
18 Pakistan 161,509 tonnes 2015 up 8.3% volatile
19 Myanmar 140,283 tonnes 2015 down 0.7% volatile
20 Malaysia 122,311 tonnes 2015 down 24.0% volatile
21 Finland 87,702 tonnes 2015 up 97.8% rising
22 Ecuador 84,754 tonnes 2015 up 3.1% volatile
23 Sweden 77,155 tonnes 2015 down 51.1% volatile
24 Panama 62,898 tonnes 2015 down 39.4% volatile
25 Ireland 51,124 tonnes 2015 down 30.7% volatile
26 Poland 50,191 tonnes 2015 down 12.1% volatile
27 Brazil 47,407 tonnes 2015 down 1.3% volatile
28 United Kingdom 39,012 tonnes 2015 down 70.1% volatile
29 South Korea 33,355 tonnes 2015 down 8.2% volatile
30 Iran 21,499 tonnes 2015 up 265.6% volatile
31 Taiwan 21,491 tonnes 2015 up 86.9% volatile
32 Indonesia 14,004 tonnes 2015 up 181.6% volatile
33 Cambodia 11,930 tonnes 2015 up 76.0% volatile
34 Ukraine 11,370 tonnes 2015 down 79.8% volatile
35 Angola 10,695 tonnes 2015 up 188.1% volatile
36 Colombia 8,890 tonnes 2015 down 65.0% volatile
37 Greenland 8,886 tonnes 2015 up 137.8% volatile
38 El Salvador 7,016 tonnes 2015 up 14.2% volatile
39 Mauritania 5,798 tonnes 2015 up 129.2% volatile
40 France 5,170 tonnes 2015 down 1.3% rising
41 Bangladesh 2,024 tonnes 2015 down 31.6% volatile
42 Madagascar 1,962 tonnes 2015 up 16.5% volatile
43 Uruguay 1,652 tonnes 2015 down 85.0% volatile
44 Hong Kong 1,325 tonnes 2015 down 84.0% volatile
45 Canada 1,319 tonnes 2015 down 32.6% volatile
46 Australia 892.49 tonnes 2015 down 41.1% volatile
47 Argentina 612.88 tonnes 2015 down 29.8% volatile
48 Spain 509 tonnes 2015 up 8.0% volatile
49 Cuba 493.08 tonnes 2015 up 12.0% volatile
50 Namibia 278.22 tonnes 2015 down 7.2% volatile
51 Yemen 209.98 tonnes 2015 up 3.2% volatile
52 New Zealand 184.51 tonnes 2015 up 23.5% rising
53 Germany 122.22 tonnes 2015 down 28.0% volatile
54 Venezuela 112.97 tonnes 2015 down 79.2% volatile
55 Singapore 75.02 tonnes 2015 down 66.1% volatile
56 Georgia 70.34 tonnes 2015 up 452.3% volatile
57 Greece 40.25 tonnes 2015 down 41.8% rising
58 Tunisia 25.37 tonnes 2015 up 8.6% volatile
59 Cape Verde 20.63 tonnes 2015 up 397.5% volatile
60 United Arab Emirates 19.59 tonnes 2015 down 14.5% volatile
61 Libya 14.03 tonnes 2015 down 34.7% volatile
62 Belgium 12.72 tonnes 2015 up 2.2% falling
63 Croatia 7.82 tonnes 2015 down 28.7% volatile
64 Eritrea 1.95 tonnes 2015 down 5.4% volatile
65 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 0.991 tonnes 2015 down 55.6% volatile
66 Vanuatu 0.7776 tonnes 2015 down 100.0% volatile
67 Saudi Arabia 0.412 tonnes 2015 down 25.2% volatile
68 Romania 0.1916 tonnes 2015 down 99.4% volatile
69 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.0924 tonnes 2015 up 194.3% volatile

About this data

Indicator
Global aquaculture production and wild fish used for animal feed
Unit
tonnes
Source
Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
69 places, 4,524 data points, 1950–2015
Last refreshed

Some wild fish catch is processed into fishmeal and oils for animal feed – this is used for land-based livestock and fish farms (aquaculture). Efficiency improvements in aquaculture, and changes in the diets of farmed fish means production has increased rapidly, without increasing inputs from wild fish.