The annual series of capture production begin in 1950. Data relate to nominal catch of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, the production of other aquatic animals, residues and plants and catches of aquatic mammals, taken for commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes from inland, brackish and marine waters. The harvest from mariculture, aquaculture and other kinds of fish farming is excluded. Data include all quantities caught and landed for both food and feed purposes but exclude discards. Catches of fish, crustaceans and molluscs are expressed in live weight, that is the nominal weight of the aquatic organisms at the time of capture. The harvest of aquatic plants is given in wet weight. Data are given in tonnes (=1000 kg), except those for whales, seals and crocodiles, which are given in numbers.

To assign nationality to catches, the flag of the fishing vessel is used, unless the wording of chartering and joint operation contracts indicates otherwise.

Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and all other aquatic organisms included in the database have been classified according to approximately 2144 commercial species items, further arranged within the 50 groups of species constituting the nine divisions of the FAO International Standard Statistical Classification of Aquatic Animals and Plants (ISSCAAP). Starting with the March 2002 release, data included in this dataset reflect a revision of the ISSCAAP groups. This revision affected names and species attribution of groups 33, 34 and 37 of the Marine Fishes division. The taxonomic code descriptors are taken from the "ASFIS list of species for fishery statistics purposes".

According to the inland or marine area where caught, capture production is also classified into eight major inland fishing areas and 19 major marine fishing areas, internationally established for fishery statistical purposes. Several countries still report their catches by large groups of species. In these circumstances the catch data presented by individual species items are likely to be underestimated. Therefore, when examining the statistics for a particular species, it should be noted that an unknown proportion of the catches for that species might have been reported by the national office under the generic, family or order name of the species, or even more roughly as "fishes not identified". Consequently, species item totals frequently underestimate the real catch of the individual species.

Starting with the release of March 2003, statistical data included in the datasets Aquaculture Production (quantities) and Capture Production have been extended back to 1950. Data before 1970 in respect to certain species may be subject to further improvements.

Where necessary, any data published in previous releases of this dataset have been revised. Where the figures in the current release differ from those previously published, the amended data represent the most recent version. Some statistics provided to FAO by national offices, in particular those for the last year, are provisional and may be amended in future editions.

NB: When viewing time-series data in FishStatJ, in order to obtain the same aggregates presented in the Summary Tables of the "FAO Yearbook of Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics" which exclude production figures for marine mammals, crocodiles, corals, pearls, mother-of-pearl, sponges and aquatic plants, you must first filter the dataset using a Custom Group:

1. Open the Filter Dialog Box (Data/Filter or F4).
2. Click the [Species] tab.
3. Click the Groups combo box and select [Yearbook/SOFIA]
4. Click [Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc].
5. Click the single left arrow in order to move under the "Include" left panel all selected species belonging to [Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc]
6. Click [OK]. The program will return you to the Main Window.

" ... " = Data not available; unobtainable; data not separately available but included in another category;
" - " = Nil or zero;
" 0 " = More than zero but less than half the unit used;
" F " = FAO estimate from available sources of information.

" nei " = Not Elsewhere Included;

The annual period used is the calendar year (1 January-31 December), with the exceptions of capture data in the Antarctic fishing areas and for some countries for which a split-year is used. Starting with the March 2004 release, the new fishing season (1 December-30 November) of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has been adopted. Split-year data are shown under the calendar year in which the split-year ends.

When quoting FishstatJ data, please use the following reference:

FAO. 2019. Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics. Global capture production 1950-2017 (FishstatJ). In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department [online]. Rome. Updated 2019. www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/software/fishstatj/en

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