What if I told you the fish on your plate today is more likely to have been farmed than caught from the wild?
Key Takeaways
- Global aquaculture production in 2020 reached 122.6 million tonnes, accounting for 51% of total fisheries and aquaculture production
- Aquaculture contributed 87.5 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2020, excluding aquatic plants
- Annual growth rate of aquaculture production from 2010-2020 averaged 5.5%, compared to 0.5% for capture fisheries
- China led with 62.5 million tonnes of aquaculture production in 2020
- India produced 8.9 million tonnes from aquaculture in 2020
- Bangladesh aquaculture output was 4.8 million tonnes in 2020
- Global aquaculture market size valued at USD 264.1 billion in 2022
- Aquaculture market projected to grow at CAGR 5.8% from 2023-2030
- Salmon was the highest valued aquaculture species at USD 25 billion in 2020
- Aquaculture nitrogen discharge estimated at 5.3 million tonnes annually
- Global aquaculture uses 0.7% of total freshwater withdrawals
- Phosphorus emissions from aquaculture total 0.8 million tonnes per year
- Atlantic salmon is the top farmed species with 2.6 million tonnes in 2020
- Tilapia production reached 6.4 million tonnes globally in 2020
- Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farmed 5.2 million tonnes in 2020
Aquaculture now supplies over half of the world's fish for human consumption.
Economic and Market Statistics
- Global aquaculture market size valued at USD 264.1 billion in 2022
- Aquaculture market projected to grow at CAGR 5.8% from 2023-2030
- Salmon was the highest valued aquaculture species at USD 25 billion in 2020
- Shrimp aquaculture generated USD 40 billion in trade value in 2020
- Global trade in aquaculture products exceeded USD 190 billion in 2020
- Aquaculture contributed 3.3% to total GDP in leading countries like Norway
- Employment in aquaculture generated USD 100 billion in wages globally in 2020
- Feed costs represent 50-70% of total production costs in fed aquaculture
- Price of farmed Atlantic salmon averaged USD 7.5/kg in 2020
- Tilapia farm-gate price was USD 2.5/kg on average in 2020
- Global pangasius exports reached USD 1.8 billion from Vietnam in 2020
- Aquaculture insurance market valued at USD 1.2 billion in 2022
- Investment in aquaculture reached USD 15 billion annually pre-2020
- China aquaculture industry worth USD 150 billion in 2020
- Export value of Norwegian aquaculture was NOK 106 billion in 2020
- US aquaculture sales totaled USD 1.5 billion in 2018
- Feed market for aquaculture valued at USD 50 billion in 2022
- Disease outbreaks cost aquaculture USD 6 billion annually worldwide
- Carbon footprint of aquaculture feed production is 2.5 kg CO2e per kg feed
- Profit margins in salmon farming averaged 20-25% in 2020
- Global aquaculture equipment market size USD 12.5 billion in 2022
Economic and Market Statistics Interpretation
We've built a quarter-trillion-dollar industry from the water up, but with salmon kings swimming in cash, shrimp turning tides of trade, and feed costs devouring half the budget, our blue revolution is a high-stakes, high-reward bet on feeding the planet.
Environmental and Sustainability Metrics
- Aquaculture nitrogen discharge estimated at 5.3 million tonnes annually
- Global aquaculture uses 0.7% of total freshwater withdrawals
- Phosphorus emissions from aquaculture total 0.8 million tonnes per year
- Sea lice from salmon farms infect 30-50 million wild salmon annually in Norway
- Mangrove loss due to shrimp farming totals 20-35% of total mangrove decline
- Antibiotics use in aquaculture is 10,000 tonnes annually globally
- Escaped farmed salmon in Pacific waters numbered 500,000 in 2017
- GHG emissions from aquaculture total 0.49 billion tonnes CO2e per year
- 25% of global aquaculture production certified sustainable by ASC in 2022
- Water use efficiency in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) is 99% less than ponds
- Organic aquaculture production grew 10% annually, reaching 0.5 million tonnes in 2020
- Bivalve aquaculture sequesters 150 million tonnes CO2 annually
- Eutrophication risk high in 52% of global aquaculture production areas
- Plastic waste from aquaculture gear estimated at 10,000 tonnes yearly
- Disease transfer from farms to wild stocks occurs in 40% of monitored cases
- Energy use in aquaculture averages 15 GJ per tonne of fish produced
- Sustainable feed innovations reduce fishmeal use by 50% in new formulations
- Land footprint of aquaculture is 0.02% of agricultural land globally
- Atlantic salmon genetic impact on wild populations up to 50% introgression in some rivers
- Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) reduces waste by 30-50%
Environmental and Sustainability Metrics Interpretation
Aquaculture's report card is a baffling mix of genuine progress and sobering consequences, proving we are simultaneously getting very clever about farming the sea while still making a spectacular mess of it.
Global Production Statistics
- Global aquaculture production in 2020 reached 122.6 million tonnes, accounting for 51% of total fisheries and aquaculture production
- Aquaculture contributed 87.5 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2020, excluding aquatic plants
- Annual growth rate of aquaculture production from 2010-2020 averaged 5.5%, compared to 0.5% for capture fisheries
- Asia accounted for 89% of global aquaculture production volume in 2020
- Finfish represented 65% of aquaculture production by volume in 2020
- Global aquaculture production value reached USD 281.5 billion in 2020
- Crustaceans made up 12% of global aquaculture production by volume in 2020
- Molluscs contributed 18% of total aquaculture production volume in 2020
- Other aquatic animals accounted for 3% of aquaculture production in 2020
- Seaweed production from aquaculture hit 35.1 million tonnes in 2020
- Inland aquaculture production grew by 4.8% annually from 2000-2020
- Marine aquaculture production increased to 31.4 million tonnes in 2020
- Total aquaculture employment worldwide was 21.9 million in 2020
- Aquaculture provided 59 kg per capita of aquatic foods in 2020 globally
- Low and middle-income countries produced 93% of global aquaculture volume in 2020
- Projected global aquaculture production to reach 102 million tonnes by 2030
- Aquaculture growth rate expected at 4% per year until 2030
- Share of aquaculture in total aquatic animal production rose from 26% in 2000 to 51% in 2020
- Global farmed fish production exceeded 50 million tonnes in 2018 for the first time
- Aquaculture production in 2018 was 82.1 million tonnes including aquatic plants
- Finfish aquaculture production was 50.9 million tonnes in 2018
- Crustacean aquaculture reached 12.4 million tonnes in 2018
- Mollusc aquaculture production stood at 17.3 million tonnes in 2018
- Seaweed aquaculture was 29.4 million tonnes in 2018
- Global aquaculture value was USD 250 billion in 2018
- Aquaculture employment reached 20.5 million full-time jobs in 2018
- Per capita aquaculture supply grew to 20.5 kg in 2018
- Asia produced 88.6% of global aquaculture in 2018
- Inland aquaculture was 51.7 million tonnes in 2018
- Marine aquaculture production was 30.4 million tonnes in 2018
Global Production Statistics Interpretation
While Asia quietly farms the seas to feed the world, aquaculture has officially tipped the scales, proving that the future of fish is no longer just about catching, but about cultivating.
Regional Aquaculture Data
- China led with 62.5 million tonnes of aquaculture production in 2020
- India produced 8.9 million tonnes from aquaculture in 2020
- Bangladesh aquaculture output was 4.8 million tonnes in 2020
- Vietnam farmed 4.5 million tonnes in 2020
- Indonesia aquaculture production reached 4.1 million tonnes in 2020
- Norway produced 1.4 million tonnes mainly salmon in 2020
- Chile farmed 1.2 million tonnes of salmonids in 2020
- Egypt aquaculture output was 2.0 million tonnes in 2020
- Myanmar produced 1.4 million tonnes in 2020
- Philippines aquaculture was 1.8 million tonnes in 2020
- European Union aquaculture production totaled 3.3 million tonnes in 2020
- United States aquaculture output was 0.5 million tonnes in 2020
- Africa aquaculture production reached 2.5 million tonnes in 2020
- Latin America and Caribbean farmed 3.1 million tonnes in 2020
- North America aquaculture was 0.7 million tonnes in 2020
- Oceania produced 0.4 million tonnes from aquaculture in 2020
- China's aquaculture production grew 2.4% from 2019 to 2020
- India's aquaculture increased by 7.5% annually 2015-2020
- Bangladesh carp production dominated with 80% of its aquaculture in 2020
- Vietnam shrimp aquaculture exported USD 3.7 billion in 2020
- Norway salmon production value was USD 12 billion in 2020
- Chile salmon farms produced 800,000 tonnes in 2020 post-disease recovery
- Egypt tilapia aquaculture reached 1.8 million tonnes in 2020
- EU shellfish aquaculture was 1.2 million tonnes in 2020
- US catfish production was 180,000 tonnes in 2020
Regional Aquaculture Data Interpretation
China dominates the aquatic stage with a staggering 62.5 million tonnes, making everyone else's impressive harvests look like a mere drop in a very large, Chinese-controlled ocean.
Species-Specific Statistics
- Atlantic salmon is the top farmed species with 2.6 million tonnes in 2020
- Tilapia production reached 6.4 million tonnes globally in 2020
- Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farmed 5.2 million tonnes in 2020
- Silver carp production was 4.7 million tonnes in China-dominated aquaculture
- Grass carp farmed 5.3 million tonnes worldwide in 2020
- Common carp production totaled 4.2 million tonnes in 2020
- Rainbow trout aquaculture output 1.0 million tonnes in 2020
- Pacific cupped oyster produced 5.0 million tonnes in 2020
- Japanese carpet shell clam farmed 2.1 million tonnes in 2020
- Giant tiger prawn production was 0.3 million tonnes in 2020
- Nile tilapia accounts for 70% of global tilapia production
- Milkfish production reached 0.9 million tonnes mainly in Asia
- Catfish (Pangasius) farmed 1.6 million tonnes in 2020
- Sea bass (European) production 0.3 million tonnes in 2020
- Yellowtail farmed 0.2 million tonnes in Japan in 2020
- Cobia production growing at 15% annually to 0.05 million tonnes
- Abalone aquaculture 0.1 million tonnes globally in 2020
- Seaweed species like Eucheuma produced 12 million tonnes in 2020
- Gracilaria seaweed farmed 8 million tonnes in 2020
- Pyropia (nori) production 2.5 million tonnes fresh weight in 2020
- Salmon survival rates in farms average 85-90% in Norway
- Shrimp farming FCR (feed conversion ratio) averages 1.2:1 for vannamei
- Tilapia growth rate 1.5g/day in intensive systems
- Carp polyculture yields 10-20 tonnes/ha/year in ponds
Species-Specific Statistics Interpretation
While the world obsesses over the silver and pink royalty of salmon and shrimp, the true aquatic workhorses are the humble carp and the unassuming but immensely productive seaweed, quietly forming the unsung, scalable backbone of global aquaculture.
Sources & References
- Reference 1FAOfao.orgVisit source
- Reference 2GRANDVIEWRESEARCHgrandviewresearch.comVisit source
- Reference 3GLOBALSEAFOODglobalseafood.orgVisit source
- Reference 4OECDoecd.orgVisit source
- Reference 5WASwas.orgVisit source
- Reference 6INTRAFISHintrafish.comVisit source
- Reference 7VASEPvasep.com.vnVisit source
- Reference 8MORDORINTELLIGENCEmordorintelligence.comVisit source
- Reference 9WORLDBANKworldbank.orgVisit source
- Reference 10CHINAFISHERYchinafishery.comVisit source
- Reference 11SSBssb.noVisit source
- Reference 12NASSnass.usda.govVisit source
- Reference 13MARKETSANDMARKETSmarketsandmarkets.comVisit source
- Reference 14THEFISHSITEthefishsite.comVisit source
- Reference 15SCIENCEDIRECTsciencedirect.comVisit source
- Reference 16FORTUNEBUSINESSINSIGHTSfortunebusinessinsights.comVisit source
- Reference 17NATUREnature.comVisit source
- Reference 18NOAAnoaa.govVisit source
- Reference 19ASC-AQUAasc-aqua.orgVisit source
- Reference 20FRONTIERSINfrontiersin.orgVisit source
- Reference 21WWFwwf.org.ukVisit source
- Reference 22FEFACfefac.euVisit source
- Reference 23FISKERIDIRfiskeridir.noVisit source
- Reference 24SHRIMPINSIGHTSshrimpinsights.comVisit source