### GLOBAL CAPTURE PRODUCTION

This dataset covers annual series of capture production from 1950. Capture fisheries refers to the hunting, collecting and gathering activities directed at removing or collecting live wild aquatic organisms. Data relate to nominal landings, converted into a live weight basis, of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic mammals, other aquatic animals, products (corals, pearls and sponges) and aquatic plants (seaweed and other algae) taken for commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes from inland waters, brackish and marine areas, including inshore, offshore and high seas marine fishing areas.

Data include all quantities caught and landed for both food and feed purposes but exclude discards, live escapements or losses prior to landings. 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 performing the essential part of the fishing operation is used, unless the wording of chartering and joint operation contracts indicates otherwise.

Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and all other aquatic organisms included in the dataset have been classified according to approximately 3 900 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). The taxonomic code descriptors are taken from the "ASFIS list of species for fishery statistics purposes" (version 2026) that will be disseminated during summer 2026. Please note that the list of species disseminated in these datasets might not adhere entirely to ASFIS(version 2026) due to differing publication schedules.

The number of aquatic mammals refers to retained animals reported in the FAO questionnaires in addition to data collected by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In the case of IWC, data refer to the total number of aquatic mammals landed (including Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling and landings of directed catches of small cetaceans). Since 2023, any retained catches of aquatic mammals from ship strikes and bycatch are not included due to the paucity of information available on the fate of these individuals (i.e., whether landed or discarded alive or dead). Consequently, the total number of landings of aquatic mammals disseminated in the FAO database are likely to be underestimated.

Capture production is also classified according to the inland or marine area where catches took place. These are divided into eight major inland fishing areas and 19 major marine fishing areas, internationally established for fishery statistical purposes (https://www.fao.org/cwp-on-fishery-statistics/handbook/general-concepts/main-water-areas/en/).

The following two additional fishing areas are used exclusively with data derived from databases of the IWC:

- Antarctic areas NEI (98)
- Marine areas outside the Antarctic (99)

Data aggregated by country, continent, or other major geographical region refer to the quantities caught by the respective country, or countries belonging to the continent or region, irrespective of the fishing area where they fished, rather than the amount caught in marine waters surrounding that continent or region.

The list of countries and the geographical classification are primarily based on the UN "STANDARD COUNTRY OR AREA CODES FOR STATISTICAL USE" (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/).

For detailed, country‑specific information, please refer to the Notes by individual country or area available in the Metadata available in this Workspace.

Data can be selected according to different classifications available in the Filter dialog box (Data/Filter or F4).

The country classifications available in this workspace are based on a variety of sources. The main ones are listed below:

- Least Developed Countries (LDC) (version 2024) (https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf)
- Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) (2026 revision)(https://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/lifdc/en/)
- Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) (https://unctad.org/topic/landlocked-developing-countries/list-of-LLDCs)
- Small Island Developing States (SIDS) (https://www.un.org/ohrlls/content/list-sids)
- Net Food-Importing Developing Countries (NFIDC) (2024 revision) (https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/G/AG/5R12.pdf&Open=True)
- The classification of the World Bank by income (2026 revision) (https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups)

Please note that in the Filter Dialog Box (Data/Filter or F4) for Country, the "Countries by miscellaneous groupings" option presents classifications that are not mutually exclusive; the same country may therefore belong to more than one grouping.

Several countries still report their fisheries and aquaculture production by large groups of species. In these circumstances the data presented by individual species items may, in some cases, be underestimated. Therefore, when examining the statistics for a particular species, it should be noted that an unknown proportion of the production for that species might have been reported by the national office under the generic, family or order name of the species, or higher levels of aggregation such as "Marine water fishes NEI" or "Freshwater fishes NEI". Consequently, species item totals may underestimate the real production of the individual species.

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 latest year, are provisional and may be amended in future editions.

Prepared by the Statistics and Information Team, Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, FAO, on the basis of information available as of 31 December 2025.

When viewing time-series data in FishStatJ, to obtain the aggregate "aquatic animals" figures presented in the "FAO Yearbook of Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics" and "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture" (SOFIA), data should be filtered 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 [[Species selection groups of Yearbook/SOFIA]
4. Click [Aquatic animals (Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc)].
5. Click the single left arrow in order to move under the "Include" left panel all selected species belonging to [Aquatic animals (Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc)].]
6. Click [OK]. The program will return you to the Main Window.

#### SYMBOLS USED

Please note that, starting with the release 2024, the symbols used are aligned with SDMX standard.

" A "= Official value (previously displayed without any symbol associated);
" B " = Time series break;
" E " = Estimated value;
" F " = Forecast value;
" G " = Experimental value;
" I " = Value imputed by a receiving agency (FAO) (previously displayed as " E ");
" P " = Provisional value;
" S " = Strike and other special events;
" U " = Low reliability;
" V " = Unvalidated value;
" X " = Value from international/mandated organization;
" NEI " = Not Elsewhere Included.
Symbols associated to value " 0 ":
" L " = Missing value; data exist but were not collected;
" M " = Missing value; data cannot exist;
" N " = Not significant (more than zero but less than half the unit used );
" O " = Missing value;
" Q " = Missing value; suppressed (including for confidential reasons).

You can customize the display of the symbols by accessing to Format/Symbols and Colors.

You can customize the export of the data in order to remove the symbols by accessing to Edit/Preferences/Data export.

Please note that «I» is not a valid flag for aggregated data, and it is replaced by «E». More information about the standard flags used in this dataset are available at the following link Statistical Standard Series: Observation Status Code List.

#### TIME REFERENCE

The annual period used is the calendar year (1 January-31 December), with the exceptions of capture data in the Antarctic fishing areas (up to 2011) 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.

#### CITATION

When quoting these FishStatJ data, please use the following reference:

FAO. 2026. FishStat: Global capture production 1950-2024. [Accessed on 15 March 2026]. In: FishStatJ. Available at www.fao.org/fishery/en/statistics/software/fishstatj. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

For a correct citation, please revise the date you accessed the data.

#### DISCLAIMER CLAUSES

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

FAO declines all responsibility for errors or deficiencies in the database or software or in the documentation accompanying it, for program maintenance and upgrading as well as for any damage that may arise from them. FAO also declines any responsibility for updating the data and assumes no responsibility for errors and omissions in the data provided. Users are, however, kindly asked to report any errors or deficiencies in this product to FAO.

The word "countries" appearing in the text refers to countries, territories and areas without distinction.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in the map(s) do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.

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