Gitnux/Report 2026

Fish Industry Statistics

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Fish Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The fish industry at a glance

The global fish industry reached a record 235 million tonnes in 2024, with aquaculture supplying 53% of aquatic-animal production and international trade valued at $184 billion.

235M tonnes[23]
Global production, 2024
$184B[23]
Aquatic-animal trade, 2024
53%[23]
Aquaculture production share, 2024
61.8M people
Primary-sector workers, 2022
Market size
Global fisheries and aquaculture production totaled 235 million tonnes in 2024, including 195 million tonnes of aquatic animals. International trade in aquatic-animal products reached $184 billion in the same year.[23]
Forecast & CAGR
FAO expects total aquatic-animal production to reach 214 million tonnes by 2034. The OECD–FAO Outlook projects human consumption of aquatic animal foods to reach approximately 194 million tonnes by 2035, up 12% over the decade, equivalent to roughly 1.1% annual growth when compounded.[23]
Market share & regions
Asia accounted for 76% of global aquatic-animal and algae production in 2024, producing 179 million tonnes. The five leading marine fisheries-producing countries—China, Indonesia, Peru, the Russian Federation and India—together accounted for 42% of global marine fisheries output.[23]
Segmentation
Aquaculture produced 103 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2024, exceeding capture fisheries at approximately 92 million tonnes. Including algae, aquaculture produced 141 million tonnes valued at $391 billion at farm gate.[23]
Key players & concentration
The five leading marine fisheries-producing countries represented 42% of global marine fisheries output in 2024. China led with 15%, followed by Indonesia at 9%, Peru at 7%, the Russian Federation at 6% and India at 5%.[23]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Aquaculture is the main growth engine, while capture fisheries have remained broadly stable at roughly 86–94 million tonnes since the late 1980s. Sustainability remains a central challenge: 72.6% of landings came from biologically sustainable stocks in 2023, while climate change, illegal fishing and uneven regional access continue to affect supply.[23]
Consumer behavior & competition
Aquatic foods supplied at least one-fifth of animal-protein consumption for 3.1 billion people in 2024, and average per-capita availability reached an estimated 21.3 kg. Asia is expected to account for around 75% of global aquatic-food consumption by 2035, with China representing 39%.[23]
M&A
Sea Harvest agreed in September 2026 to acquire Terrasan Group’s seafood businesses for approximately ZAR 965 million, or about $50.4 million. The transaction illustrates continued consolidation across fishing, processing and aquaculture supply chains.[30]
Regulation
EU fisheries-control rules require fishery and aquaculture products to be placed into lots and remain traceable through production, processing and distribution, from catching or harvesting to retail. The rules also require specified traceability information for newly created lots.[11]
Latest news
FAO’s 2026 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, released on June 16, 2026, reported record 2024 production and aquaculture exceeding 100 million tonnes of aquatic animals for the first time. In the United States, California officials also advanced plans for the country’s largest kelp farm, with potential capacity of up to 6,000 tonnes at full operation.[23][65]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Fish Industry

The leading companies in the fish industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Mowi leads Gitnux's 2026 fish ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with 559,000 tonnes harvested in 2025. Cooke is the highest-ranked seafood company at 9.0, with largest private family-owned seafood company by employees.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in salmon farming & seafood processing

    Mowi

    NO

    Ranked #1 · 9.3 · Salmon farming & seafood processing

    Why we picked it: Scale in integrated Atlantic salmon farming ties to traceability and processing throughput needs.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mowi.com ↗

  2. Leader in integrated aquaculture & seafood

    Cooke

    CA

    Ranked #2 · 9.0 · Integrated aquaculture & seafood

    Why we picked it: Integrated aquaculture and wild seafood operations sit across capture, farming, and processing functions.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cookeseafood.com ↗

  3. Leader in wild catch & seafood processing

    Lerøy Seafood Group

    NO

    Ranked #3 · 8.9 · Wild catch & seafood processing

    Why we picked it: A salmon-plus-processing value chain links capture volume flows to logistics and traceability events.

    See in ranking ↓Visit leroyseafood.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the fish industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Mowi

Salmon farming & seafood processing · NO

9.3
2

Cooke

Integrated aquaculture & seafood · CA

9.0
3

Lerøy Seafood Group

Wild catch & seafood processing · NO

8.9
4

SalMar

Salmon farming & seafood processing · NO

8.9
5

Umios

Marine procurement & processing · JP

8.7
6

Sea Harvest Group

Wild-caught hake, pelagic fishing and aquaculture · ZA

8.5
7

Nueva Pescanova

Fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing · ES

8.4
8

Bakkafrost

Salmon farming, feed and processing · FO

7.9
9

Austevoll Seafood

Pelagic fishing, seafood processing and fishmeal · NO

7.9
10

High Liner Foods

Frozen seafood processing and branded products · CA

7.7

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the fish industry. In Fish Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/fish-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest fish companies

Umios leads with $7.2B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

Umios$7.2B
Mowi$6.2B
Lerøy Seafood Group$3.2B
SalMar$2.5B
Bakkafrost$1.0B
source-verifiedumios.com · mowi.com · leroyseafood.com · live.euronext.com · bakkafrost.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI and automation measurements are specific, from 95% AI accuracy in species ID after filleting to 92% IoU for FishNet segmentation. Electronic traceability adoption sits at 61% for seafood-production companies.

AI in the fish industry

  • 95% accuracy was reported for an AI-enhanced handheld device identifying fish species after filleting.[1]
  • 93% accuracy was achieved by a NOAA field device used to detect seafood fraud, with AI helping interpret results.[2]
  • 92% intersection-over-union accuracy was achieved for fish segmentation by the FishNet deep-neural-network system.[3]
  • 4 major AI-in-aquaculture research areas were identified: sensing and automation, fish health and genomics, environmental monitoring, and computer vision.[4]
  • 13.14% was the annual growth rate of AI-in-aquaculture publications through 2025.[4]
  • 25 latent AI-in-aquaculture research topics were identified in a global bibliometric analysis through 2025.[4]

Automation in the fish industry

  • 52% of non-certified seafood companies reported employing electronic traceability systems.[5]
  • 100% of large Alaska seafood-processing facilities had adopted automation, according to an Alaska labor-market report.[6]
  • 72% of seafood-production companies surveyed also performed processing, distribution, food service, or retail activities.[5]
  • 61% of surveyed seafood companies reported using some form of electronic traceability, a core digital automation capability.[5]
  • 63% of MSC-certified seafood companies reported electronic traceability systems.[5]
  • 44% of vertically integrated fishing and aquaculture companies reported electronic traceability.[5]

Digital Transformation in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[7]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[7]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[7]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[8]
  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[7]

Technology Adoption in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • In Czechia, 30% of crop-production farmers used at least one precision-agriculture technology in 2023.[9]
  • Across EU farms with utilised agricultural area, about 18% used some form of precision-farming technology or practice in 2023.[9]
  • In Germany, 85.5% of surveyed farms used at least one digital technology in 2024–2025.[9]
  • In Chile, 12% of agricultural production units reported using a technological tool such as mobile applications, drones, or sensors in 2021.[9]
  • Across EU farms, 43% had internet access, 11% used farm-management information systems, and 7% used robotics in 2023.[9]
  • In Canada, 84% of field-crop operations used GPS equipment in 2021.[9]

Cloud Computing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[10]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[7]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[7]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[10]

Big Data in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[7]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 307 startups focused on artificial intelligence and big data were formed between 2015 and 2023.[7]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 17% used big-data technologies in 2023.[7]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Vessel monitoring coverage and electronic-monitoring targets show a compliance push, alongside low global deployment under 1,000 vessels. Data governance and validation lag, with 42% of manufacturers reporting a process to verify data quality.

Business intelligence in the fish industry

  • 84% of European Union fishing vessels longer than 15 metres were equipped with automatic identification systems in 2024.[11]
  • 48% of European Union fishing vessels 12–15 metres long were covered by vessel-monitoring systems in 2024.[11]
  • 98% of European Union fishing vessels longer than 15 metres were covered by vessel-monitoring systems in 2020.[11]
  • 25 companies were identified as powering seafood traceability with blockchain in the ThisFish industry review.[12]
  • 50% of seafood traceability providers were reported to deploy blockchain technology in the ThisFish industry review.[12]
  • 36% of European Union fishing vessels 12–15 metres long were covered by vessel-monitoring systems in 2020.[11]

Data analytics in the fish industry

  • 35% was the target video-review rate for audit-model vessels enrolled in the Northeast multispecies electronic-monitoring program in fishing year 2024.[13]
  • 4 electronic-monitoring pilot programs operated in United States federal fisheries in 2024.[2]
  • Electronic monitoring had been implemented on fewer than 1,000 fishing vessels globally by 2024.[14]
  • 5 electronic-monitoring programs were under development in United States federal fisheries in 2024.[2]
  • 300,000 hand-labeled images containing 1.2 million fish were used to develop the FishNet stock-estimation dataset in 2024.[3]
  • 13 software products were identified for seafood quality testing and verification in 2024.[15]

Data Quality in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 30% of manufacturing respondents identified poor-quality data as one of their top three challenges when working with AI-related data in 2024.[16]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[17]
  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[17]
  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[16]
  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[16]

Data Governance in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[18]
  • 15% of manufacturers said their data strategy was entirely aligned with their overall business strategy in 2024, while 31% said it was very closely aligned.[16]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[19]
  • 61% of manufacturers reported having a corporate-wide governance plan, strategy or formal guidelines for how data is collected, organized, accessed and used in 2024.[16]
  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[19]
  • 69% of food and beverage companies still relied on spreadsheets and email for core operations in 2025, limiting standardized access and control of business data.[19]

KPIs in the fish industry

  • 3.4 was the average economic sustainability score for domestic aquaculture systems in the performance-indicator study.[20]
  • 1.3 was the feed-conversion ratio for semi-intensive shrimp production under the current-health scenario in a 2026 aquaculture model.[21]
  • 70% was the survival rate for extensive shrimp production under the current-health scenario in a 2026 aquaculture model.[21]
  • 3.7 was the average economic sustainability score for export-oriented aquaculture systems in the performance-indicator study.[20]
  • 73% was the survival rate for semi-intensive shrimp production under the current-health scenario in a 2026 aquaculture model.[21]
  • 3 dimensions—environmental, economic and community—were aggregated into key aquaculture performance indicators.[22]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Aquaculture is the documented growth engine, with production reaching 103 million tonnes in 2024 and exceeding 100 million tonnes for the first time. Capture fisheries remain broadly stable around 92 million tonnes in 2024.

Growth in the fish industry

  • 212 million tonnes is the projected global fisheries and aquaculture production in 2034, up from 189 million tonnes in the base period.[9]
  • 21.1 kilograms was global per-capita availability of aquatic animal foods in 2023.[23]
  • 89% of global aquatic-animal production was used for human consumption in 2024.[23]
  • 600 million livelihoods were supported worldwide by fisheries and aquaculture in 2024.[23]
  • 103 million tonnes of aquatic animals were produced by aquaculture globally in 2024, exceeding 100 million tonnes for the first time.[23]
  • 92 million tonnes of aquatic animals came from capture fisheries globally in 2024.[23]

Differentiation in the fish industry

  • 34% growth occurred over five years in the number of countries with ASC-certified seafood available.[24]
  • 20% growth was recorded in MSC-labelled seafood sales in China in 2023/24.[25]
  • 1.2 million tonnes of MSC-labelled seafood were sold globally in the year to March 2024.[25]
  • 14% was the estimated price premium for MSC-certified haddock loins in export markets.[26]
  • 35% growth was recorded in MSC-labelled seafood sales in South Korea in 2023/24.[25]
  • 17% was the estimated MSC certification price premium for Norwegian cod in Western Europe.[26]

Mergers and acquisitions in the fish industry

  • 100,000 Atlantic salmon were lost by an aquaculture company after filtration-system failure in November 2023.[27]
  • 5 million US dollars was the estimated cost of the 100,000-salmon loss from the aquaculture-system failure.[27]
  • 77 seafood acquisitions, mergers and significant investment stakes were tallied globally in 2023.[28]
  • 7% fewer seafood acquisitions, mergers and significant investment stakes were recorded in 2023 than in 2022.[28]
  • 3 seafood transactions were recorded in the first half of 2024 in ACT Capital Advisors’ sector review.[29]
  • 1.75 million US dollars was divided between Channel Fish Processing and Trident for Alaska pollock contracts in December 2023.[30]

Strategic partnerships in the fish industry

  • 11 salmon farmers participated in Chile’s Yelcho public-private project to reduce antibiotic use in 2024.[30]
  • 10% of wild-fish production was estimated to be MSC-certified or engaged in a fishery-improvement project.[31]
  • 30 million larval oysters were monitored in real time during Viam’s 2024 partnership with Billion Oyster Project.[32]
  • Nearly 90% of Chilean Atlantic salmon production was represented by the farmers participating in the Yelcho project.[30]
  • 12% of wild-fish production was estimated to be engaged in a fishery-improvement project.[31]
  • 4% of global aquaculture production was estimated to be ASC- or BAP-certified.[31]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Employment is large and dispersed, with 61.8 million people working in primary production in 2022. Workforce participation and turnover indicators appear in company-specific measures and processing job counts.

Hiring in the fish industry

  • 32,100 people worked in US seafood product preparation and packaging as of July 2024.[4]
  • 8,501 people were employed in Alaska fish harvesting on average per month in 2015, compared with 5,393 in 2024.[6]
  • 29% of UK seafood-processing FTE workers were non-UK nationals in 2024, comprising 21% from the EU/EEA and 8% from other countries.[33]
  • 61.8 million people were employed in global fisheries and aquaculture primary production in 2022.[23]
  • 65% of global fisheries-and-aquaculture workers were employed in capture fisheries in 2020.[23]

Employee retention in the fish industry

  • 46.8% was Lerøy Seafood Group’s turnover rate among employees aged 30–50 in 2020.[34]
  • 3.4% was Lerøy Seafood Group’s turnover rate among employees covered by its pension measure in 2020.[34]
  • 8% fewer FTE workers were employed by surveyed UK seafood processors in 2024 than in the previous survey year.[33]
  • 18.6 thousand FTE jobs existed in UK seafood processing in 2014, compared with 15.9 thousand in 2024.[33]
  • 13.3% was Lerøy Seafood Group’s turnover rate among employees older than 50 in 2020.[34]

Remote Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[35]
  • Across U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, about 12% of workers worked remotely during October 2023–September 2024, including hybrid and fully remote work.[36]
  • Across U.S. accommodation and food services, 4.8% of workers worked remotely in 2021, up from 1.9% in 2019 and 5.3% in 2020.[37]
  • Across U.S. crop and animal production, 14.4% of workers worked remotely in 2021, compared with 14.7% in 2019 and 15.4% in 2020.[37]

Hybrid Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 13% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals preferred full-time on-site work in 2024.[38]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed in 2024, 36% reported having no work-at-home days per week.[39]
  • Across employers discussed in a food-industry hybrid-work survey, about 90% had adopted some form of hybrid work, although the figure was not limited to agriculture and food production.[39]
  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[38]
  • 33% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working in hybrid arrangements in 2024.[38]

Upskilling in the fish industry

  • 10% of UK seafood-processing full-time employees were classified as unskilled in 2023.[33]
  • 15% of UK seafood-processing full-time employees were classified as highly skilled in 2023.[33]
  • 38% of UK seafood-processing full-time employees were classified as semi-skilled in 2023.[33]
  • 22% of UK seafood-processing full-time employees were classified as lower-skilled in 2023.[33]
  • 12% of Associated Seafoods’ 675 employees were undertaking apprenticeships in 2024.[33]

Employee Engagement in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • At Europe Snacks, a multinational food manufacturer, employee engagement reached 79% across its international workforce and 88% in its UK business after a structured listening program.[40]
  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[40]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[40]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[40]
  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[41]

DEI in the fish industry

  • 37% of workers in commercial fishing were women across 41 countries and territories in 2022.[9]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Retail purchasing behavior is measurable, including 1.97 units per trip and a 51-day average purchase cycle in the U.S. Market trust signals show independent certifications used by 21% of consumers in 2023.

Customer experience in the fish industry

  • 86% of Chinese seafood consumers considered country of origin relevant when choosing a retailer in 2024.[42]
  • 21% of seafood consumers identified independent certification schemes as their most trusted information source in the ASC survey conducted in 2023.[24]
  • 82% of South Korean seafood consumers considered country of origin relevant to retailer choice in 2024.[42]
  • 89% of Chinese seafood consumers considered a wide assortment relevant when choosing a retailer in 2024.[42]
  • 70% of seafood consumers in Spain and Italy rated the ASC label as trustworthy for farmed seafood in research conducted in 2023.[24]

Customer retention in the fish industry

  • 1.97 seafood units were purchased per trip in the United States during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[43]
  • 51 days was the average purchase cycle for U.S. total seafood during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[43]
  • 32% of U.S. grocery consumers were frequent seafood shoppers in 2024, up from 30% a year earlier.[30]
  • 17.0 shopping trips per seafood buyer were recorded in U.S. total seafood during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[43]
  • 33.44 units was the annual seafood buy rate per U.S. buyer during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[43]

Customer acquisition in the fish industry

  • 82% of Italian consumers chose sustainable products when given a choice in seafood research conducted in 2023.[24]
  • 92.7% of U.S. younger-boomer households bought seafood during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[43]
  • 84.2% of U.S. Gen Z and younger-millennial households bought seafood during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[43]
  • 67% of surveyed consumers were interested in buying more sustainable seafood products in research conducted in 2023.[24]
  • 89.1% of U.S. households in the older-millennial generation bought seafood during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[43]

Customer loyalty in the fish industry

  • 62% of U.S. consumers considered country of origin relevant when choosing where to buy fish and seafood in 2024.[42]
  • 53% of seafood consumers said they wanted to avoid farmed fish from irresponsible companies in 2025.[44]
  • 2% of consumers spontaneously thought about sustainability while shopping for fish or seafood in supermarkets in research conducted in 2023.[24]
  • 21% of seafood consumers trusted independent certification schemes most as sources of seafood information in research conducted in 2023.[24]
  • 10% of seafood shoppers accounted for 40% of all seafood purchases in the United States in 2026.[45]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Direct seafood marketing reaches scale figures, with 68.8% using direct-to-consumer as the leading channel in 2023. NOAA’s detailed survey drew 604 valid responses with an 18% response rate.

Marketing in the fish industry

  • 68.8% of U.S. direct seafood marketers used direct-to-consumer sales as their leading marketing channel in 2023.[46]
  • 18% was the response rate for NOAA’s detailed survey of U.S. direct seafood marketers.[2]
  • 60.0% of South Atlantic direct seafood marketers primarily used direct-to-consumer sales in 2023.[46]
  • 604 valid responses were collected from U.S. direct seafood marketers in NOAA’s detailed marketing survey.[2]
  • More than 60% of the reported U.S. direct seafood workforce worked full time in the seafood marketing sector.[2]

Digital marketing in the fish industry

  • 8 million additional users were reached through organic and boosted catfish content in 2025.[47]
  • 30-plus fishermen profiles were included on the relaunched RI Seafood website in 2022.[48]
  • 850,000-plus users engaged with U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish paid advertisements in 2025.[47]
  • 50%-plus year-over-year growth was recorded in time spent on the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish website in 2025.[47]
  • 5.3 billion impressions were generated in phase two of ASMI’s Always in Season campaign.[43]

Branding in the fish industry

  • 67% of Rhode Island consumers were more willing to try a new seafood species when it was labeled local in 2019.[49]
  • 75% of Rhode Island consumers living on or near the coast were willing to pay more for local white fish in 2019.[49]
  • 72% of Rhode Island consumers were willing to pay more for local white fish in the 2019 survey.[49]
  • 57% of Rhode Island coastal consumers were more willing to try a new seafood species when labeled local in 2019.[49]
  • 12% of Rhode Island consumers recognized the Rhode Island Seafood branding logo in the 2019 survey.[49]

Social media in the fish industry

  • 8.2 million owned social-media impressions were generated by ASMI’s domestic activity in FY2024.[43]
  • 229% growth in social-media engagements was recorded by RI Seafood in 2022.[48]
  • 9.3 million paid and organic social-media impressions were generated for Alaska seafood in FY2024.[43]
  • 20.6 million owned social-media impressions were generated by ASMI’s international activity in FY2024.[43]
  • 2.91% growth in Instagram followers was recorded by Alaska Seafood in FY2024.[43]

Influencer Marketing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Food and drink influencer posts achieved a 1.19% average engagement rate globally in 2023.[50]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[50]
  • Food and drink influencer content involved 78,800 profiles globally in 2023, based on Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[50]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[50]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 392 billion impressions globally in 2023.[50]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Processing output and labor capacity are tracked with $5.3 billion in processed seafood value in the latest U.S. NOAA survey and 2.5 billion pounds produced. Loss and waste appear as quantified value-chain challenges.

Process optimization in the fish industry

  • 2.5 billion pounds of processed seafood products were produced by U.S. processors in the latest NOAA processed-products survey.[51]
  • 60 whitefish-processing sites supported 1,108 full-time-equivalent jobs in the UK in 2018.[33]
  • 70% of processed-fish mass can consist of by-products, depending on species, fish size and processing method, globally in 2022.[23]
  • $5.3 billion was the value of processed seafood products produced by U.S. processors in the latest NOAA processed-products survey.[51]
  • 88 primary-processing sites supported 1,977 full-time-equivalent jobs in the UK in 2018.[33]

Operational efficiency in the fish industry

  • €36 billion was the net turnover of the EU fish-processing industry in 2024.[52]
  • 30% of UK majority seafood-processing sites were involved in exporting in 2023.[33]
  • More than 17,200 full-time-equivalent jobs were supported by the UK seafood-processing industry in 2023.[33]
  • 107,000 people were employed in the EU-27 fish-processing industry in 2023.[52]
  • 59% of UK majority seafood-processing sites supplied wholesale businesses in 2023.[33]

Quality management in the fish industry

  • 96.33% was the mean adoption level for good laboratory practices among surveyed fish processors in Kerala, India.[53]
  • 24% of the global fisheries and aquaculture workforce were women in 2022.[23]
  • 35% of fish and seafood was estimated by FAO to be wasted across the value chain in the reported assessment.[23]
  • 76.47% of 34 surveyed fish-processing units in Kerala, India, were approved for EU export in the study year.[53]
  • 23.53% of 34 surveyed fish-processing units in Kerala, India, were non-EU-approved units in the study year.[53]

Supply chain in the fish industry

  • 81% of aquatic-animal production used for non-food purposes was reduced to fishmeal and fish oil in 2020.[23]
  • Over one-third of global aquatic-animal production was traded internationally in 2024.[23]
  • 3.9% to 10% were reported fish losses during processing and transport in cited African studies.[23]
  • 1% of fishmeal was used in poultry production in 2020.[23]
  • 6.4 billion pounds of edible seafood products were imported by the United States in 2024.[2]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 2% of Canadian food and beverage companies outsourced production entirely to third-party manufacturers in 2020.[54]
  • 66% of Queensland food-processing businesses engaged in contract manufacturing to some extent in 2010, including contracting work in or out.[55]
  • 85% of Canadian food and beverage companies processed or manufactured products internally in 2020, while 13% both produced internally and outsourced production.[54]
  • 49% of U.S. growers surveyed outsourced at least some farm work to third-party service providers in 2022, with spraying services the most commonly outsourced activity.[56]
  • About 12% of firms in the 11-country World Bank Firm-level Adoption of Technology sample outsourced at least one food-processing function, compared with about 18% in apparel.[57]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Price and cost pressures are quantified, including £11.57 per kilogram average UK retail price for fish in 52 weeks to June 21, 2025. Mowi also reported EUR 327 million in annualised savings from global cost-saving programmes.

Pricing strategy in the fish industry

  • £11.57 per kilogram was the average UK retail price for fish in the 52 weeks to June 21, 2025, up 2.6% year on year.[33]
  • 17% was the increase in average UK first-sale prices for pelagic species in 2024, driven by mackerel, herring and blue whiting.[33]
  • 24% was the share of total UK seafood retail value accounted for by frozen seafood in October 2024.[33]
  • USD 171 billion was the estimated global export value of fisheries and aquaculture products in 2024, down approximately USD 7.6 billion from 2023.[23]
  • £2.9 billion was the value of chilled seafood retail sales in the UK in 2024.[33]

Cost reduction in the fish industry

  • £874 million, or 19% of UK seafood-processing operating costs, represented labour costs in 2022.[33]
  • EUR 327 million was Mowi’s annualised savings from global cost-saving programmes completed since 2018.[58]
  • £2.9 billion, or 64% of UK seafood-processing operating costs, represented raw materials in 2022.[33]
  • 41% was the increase in total operating costs for UK seafood processors in 2022.[33]
  • 7% was the increase in seafood-processor costs in 2021 compared with 2020 estimates in the UK.[33]

Profitability in the fish industry

  • EUR 59 million was the net profit of the EU fishing fleet in 2023, excluding subsidies and fishing rights.[59]
  • 15% was the gross-profit margin of Ireland’s fishing fleet in 2023.[60]
  • 28.3% was the UK fishing fleet’s operating-profit margin in 2024, calculated from £337 million profit and £1.189 billion turnover.[33]
  • 16% was the EU fishing fleet’s gross-profit share of revenue after capital costs in 2023.[59]
  • €48 million was the gross profit of Ireland’s fishing fleet in 2023, up 179% from 2022.[60]

Financial planning in the fish industry

  • €300,000 was the maximum temporary state-aid amount available per fisheries or aquaculture company through the EU crisis framework until the end of 2023.[11]
  • EUR 300 million was the estimated gross profit the EU fishing fleet could generate in 2023 at then-current fuel prices.[11]
  • EUR 2.5 billion was the estimated gross value added the EU fishing fleet could generate in 2023 at then-current fuel prices.[11]
  • EUR 3.202 billion was the projected gross value added of the EU fishing fleet in 2023 in the latest full economic assessment.[59]
  • EUR 1.2 billion was SalMar’s identified potential savings target through 2029, providing a quantified basis for its longer-term financial planning.[61]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Product mix and applied needs show research-driven directions, including 34% of surveyed Alaska seafood companies citing new markets for seaweed and other mariculture products. Certification and ecolabel effects show measurable willingness-to-buy signals.

Product development in the fish industry

  • 34% of surveyed Alaska seafood companies identified new markets for seaweed and other mariculture products as an applied-research need, Alaska, year not stated.[62]
  • 37% of surveyed Alaska seafood companies used seafood equipment companies as a source of answers to product, quality or processing questions, Alaska, year not stated.[62]
  • 23% of surveyed Alaska seafood companies used the University of Washington as a source of answers to product, quality or processing questions, Alaska, year not stated.[62]
  • 63% of surveyed Alaska seafood companies used the Seafood Processors Association to find answers to product, quality or processing questions, Alaska, year not stated.[62]
  • 40% of surveyed Alaska seafood companies used Alaska Sea Grant as a source of answers to product, quality or processing questions, Alaska, year not stated.[62]

Product lifecycle in the fish industry

  • More than 20% of aquatic food production in low-income countries was utilized in cured form in 2020.[23]
  • 11% of aquatic food production in upper-middle-income countries was utilized in canned form in 2020.[23]
  • 89% of global aquatic-animal production was used for direct human consumption in 2020, compared with 67% in the 1960s.[23]
  • 11% of aquatic food used for direct human consumption was prepared and preserved in 2020.[23]
  • Approximately two-thirds of fisheries and aquaculture production for human consumption was frozen, prepared or preserved in Europe and North America in 2020.[63]

Value proposition in the fish industry

  • 19% of global seafood consumers cited nutritional benefits as a leading reason for buying seafood in 2026.[24]
  • 27% of global seafood consumers named price as their top spontaneous purchase consideration in 2026.[24]
  • 87% of consumers surveyed across 14 countries said including fish and seafood in daily shopping was important or very important in 2024.[64]
  • 58% of seafood consumers said seeing the MSC ecolabel would make them more likely to purchase a product in 2024.[25]
  • 81% of consumers in the Netherlands and Japan said including fish and seafood in food shopping was important in 2024.[64]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability claims are supported with quantified certification and coverage, including 72.6% biologically sustainable stocks for 2023 landings. MSC engagement is tracked through 20.6% of global marine wild catch in 2024–25.

Sustainability in the fish industry

  • 92 million tonnes of aquatic animals were produced by global capture fisheries in 2024.[23]
  • 46.4% of fish stocks in the Mediterranean and Black Sea were sustainably fished in 2021.[23]
  • Over 600 million livelihoods were supported by fisheries and aquaculture worldwide in 2024.[23]
  • 35.1% of fish stocks in the Southeast Pacific were sustainably fished in 2021.[23]
  • 20.6% of global marine wild catch was engaged with the MSC program in 2024–25.[25]

ESG in the fish industry

  • 8% was the average annual growth rate in MSC Chain of Custody certificate holders from 2013 to 2024.[25]
  • 2,625 improvements had been made by MSC-certified fisheries by March 2025.[25]
  • 18.9% of global marine catch came from fisheries certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard by 2025.[25]
  • 51,260 sites worldwide were certified to sell MSC-certified sustainable seafood in 2024–25.[25]
  • $184 billion was the value of international trade in aquatic animal products in 2024.[23]

Ethics in the fish industry

  • 95% of the Indian shrimp market was supplied by imports in the United States in 2024.[65]
  • 10 years was the reported maximum period some North Korean workers spent at sea without returning ashore.[65]
  • 21 countries had ratified ILO Convention No. 188 on work in fishing by 2024.[66]
  • 32,000 fishing fatalities occur worldwide annually, according to fisheries-sector estimates cited in 2026 reporting.[67]
  • 12 Chinese tuna longliners were identified as operating with North Korean workers in the southwest Indian Ocean.[65]

CSR in the fish industry

  • 85% of people employed in primary aquatic-food production were located in Asia in 2022.[23]
  • More than 600 million livelihoods worldwide depended on fisheries and aquaculture in 2024.[23]
  • 10% of people employed in primary aquatic-food production were located in Africa in 2022.[23]
  • 1.17 million jobs were supported by fisheries, aquaculture and their value chains in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region in 2023.[23]
  • 940,000 tonnes of aquatic foods were produced by marine and brackish aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region in 2023.[23]

Circular economy in the fish industry

  • 104,000 tonnes per year of seafood by-products came from production mortalities in the case studies.[68]
  • 296,000 tonnes per year of seafood by-products came from processing waste in the case studies.[68]
  • 413,000 tonnes per year of seafood by-products were recorded across case studies in Norway, the United States and Vietnam.[68]
  • 12,000 tonnes per year of seafood by-products came from fish that were not processed in the case studies.[68]
  • 30–40% of a finfish is commonly obtained as edible product during filleting, leaving the remainder as processing by-products.[69]

Carbon footprint in the fish industry

  • 11.6 kg CO2e per kilogram edible weight was the median footprint of other farmed marine fish.[57]
  • 9.7 kg CO2e per kilogram of seafood produced was the average footprint of Australian aquaculture.[70]
  • 7.77 kg CO2e per kilogram edible weight was the median footprint of farmed catfish.[57]
  • 6.43 kg CO2e per kilogram edible weight was the median footprint of farmed milkfish.[57]
  • 4.4 kg CO2e per kilogram of seafood produced was the average footprint of Australian wild-catch fisheries.[70]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Trade scale is large and shifting, with global export value of fisheries and aquaculture products at $175 billion in 2023 and international trade over 65 million tonnes in 2023. Country flows show Norway exporting $16.0 billion in 2023.

Globalization in the fish industry

  • $175 billion was the global export value of aquatic products in 2023.[23]
  • Norway exported $16.0 billion of fishery products in 2023.[23]
  • 65 million tonnes of fishery and fisheries products were traded globally in 2023.[23]
  • Global aquatic-product trade reached $195 billion in 2022, involving more than 230 countries.[23]
  • Low- and middle-income countries recorded a $45 billion net trade surplus in aquatic products in 2022.[23]

Cultural adaptation in the fish industry

  • 53.9% of Japanese respondents belonged to the traditional seafood-consumer class, the highest share reported across the markets.[14]
  • 21.26% of surveyed seafood consumers across 12 markets were classified as sustainability-interested in 2023–2024.[14]
  • 22.9 kilograms per person was EU apparent seafood consumption in 2023, down from 25.5 kilograms in 2014.[52]
  • 56.3% of Indian respondents belonged to the indecisive seafood-consumer class.[14]
  • 56.6% of Vietnamese respondents belonged to the indecisive seafood-consumer class.[14]

Supplier management in the fish industry

  • 36% of the volume caught by the UK fleet was landed abroad in 2024.[33]
  • 137,578 tonnes was the volume of UK seafood imports from Norway in 2025.[33]
  • £353 million was the value of UK seafood imports from China in 2025.[33]
  • £1.252 billion was the value of fish farmed in the UK in 2023.[33]
  • £210 million was the value of UK seafood imports from Denmark in 2025.[33]

Stakeholder management in the fish industry

  • 36% of primary-sector workers were in aquaculture in 2022.[23]
  • 4.1 million fishing vessels operated worldwide in 2020.[23]
  • More than 600 million people depended on fisheries and aquaculture for livelihoods worldwide in 2024.[23]
  • 10% of fisheries and aquaculture primary-sector jobs were located in Africa in 2022.[23]
  • 54% of primary-sector workers were in fisheries in 2022.[23]

Distribution channels in the fish industry

  • 12% of UK retail seafood volume sales were cod in the year ending March 2024.[33]
  • £2.9 billion was the value of chilled UK retail seafood sales in 2024.[33]
  • 410,157 tonnes was the volume of UK retail seafood sales in 2024.[33]
  • 48,327 tonnes of cod were sold through UK retail channels in 2024.[33]
  • 75% of UK seafood sales to consumers went through retail in 2024.[33]

Key questions about the fish industry

What is the current global scale of the fish industry in tonnage and trade value?
The global fish industry reached a record 235 million tonnes in 2024, with aquaculture supplying 53% of aquatic-animal production. International trade in aquatic-animal products was valued at $184 billion in 2024.
How is aquatic-animal production expected to change over the next decade?
FAO expects total aquatic-animal production to reach 214 million tonnes by 2034. The OECD–FAO Outlook projects human consumption of aquatic animal foods at approximately 194 million tonnes by 2035.
Which companies lead the fish industry?
Mowi leads Gitnux's 2026 fish ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with 559,000 tonnes harvested in 2025. Cooke is the highest-ranked seafood company at 9.0, with largest private family-owned seafood company by employees.
What technology shifts are becoming standard for traceability and compliance?
EU fisheries-control rules require traceability through production, processing and distribution, with traceability information for newly created lots. In parallel, 61% of seafood-production companies reported using electronic traceability, and 63% of MSC-certified seafood companies reported electronic traceability systems.
How concentrated is marine fisheries output across countries?
The five leading marine fisheries-producing countries represented 42% of global marine fisheries output in 2024. China led with 15%, followed by Indonesia at 9%, Peru at 7%, the Russian Federation at 6% and India at 5%.
What is the biggest recurring operational constraint that limits data and automation use?
Poor data quality and disconnected systems constrain AI and integration. In 2024, 30% of manufacturing respondents cited poor-quality data as a top challenge for AI-related data.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Fish Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/fish-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Fish Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/fish-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Fish Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/fish-industry-statistics.

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