Fishing Industry

The global industry covering any activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products, spanning commercial enterprises that harvest wild fish or operate aquaculture, traditional and subsistence fishing following established cultural practices, and recreational fishing pursued for sport or personal use. The industry supports the livelihoods of more than 500 million people in developing countries, and in 2016 about 171 million tonnes of fish were caught worldwide, with 88 percent going toward human consumption, up from 67 percent in the 1960s. The share of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels fell from 90 percent in 1974 to 62.3 percent by 2021, reflecting mounting overfishing pressure on the industry's resource base.