Gitnux/Report 2026

Fishery Industry Statistics

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

Gitnux editors write the brief first: the topic, the inclusion rules, and the frame for what belongs.

02Source Research

Agents search the published record and log every extracted figure back to the passage it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The fishery industry at a glance

Global fisheries and aquaculture production reached 195 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2024, with aquaculture supplying 53% and continuing to drive sector growth.

195M tonnes[9]
Aquatic animal production, 2024
$371B[9]
Aquaculture farm-gate value, 2024
53%[9]
Aquaculture production share, 2024
600M+[9]
Livelihoods supported worldwide
Market size
Global fisheries and aquaculture production reached 235 million tonnes in 2024, including 195 million tonnes of aquatic animals and approximately 40 million tonnes of algae. Aquaculture aquatic-animal production was valued at $371 billion at the farm gate.[9]
Forecast & CAGR
FAO projects aquatic-animal production to reach 214 million tonnes by 2034, up from 195 million tonnes in 2024. This implies an approximate 0.9% compound annual growth rate over 2024–2034, calculated from the reported figures.[9]
Market share & regions
Asia accounted for 76% of global production of aquatic animals and algae in 2024, while aquaculture production in the region reached 91.5 million tonnes. The top five marine fisheries-producing countries accounted for 42% of global marine output, led by China at 15%.[9]
Segmentation
The industry divides into capture fisheries and aquaculture: capture fisheries produced about 92 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2024, while aquaculture produced 103 million tonnes. By product group, finfish represented 68% of 2024 aquatic-product trade value, crustaceans 22%, and molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates the remainder.[9]
Key players & concentration
Production is concentrated among a small group of countries. China accounted for 15% of global marine fisheries output in 2024, while the five leading aquatic-animal exporters—China, Norway, Viet Nam, Ecuador and Chile—together represented 35% of global export value.[9]
Pricing
U.S. commercial fishermen landed 8.4 billion pounds valued at $5.1 billion in 2023, equivalent to an average ex-vessel value of approximately $0.61 per pound calculated from NOAA’s reported totals. NOAA reported that total commercial landings revenue declined 16% from 2022 while landing volume increased 2%.[47][12]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Aquaculture is the main growth engine, accounting for 53% of aquatic-animal production in 2024, while capture fisheries have remained broadly stable at 86–94 million tonnes annually since the late 1980s. Key challenges include stock sustainability, climate change, disease management, ecosystem impacts, illegal fishing and uneven access to cold-chain infrastructure.[9]
Consumer behavior & competition
Global per-capita availability of aquatic animal food reached an estimated 21.3 kilograms in 2024, while 89% of aquatic-animal production was used for direct human consumption. International competition is strongly trade-led: about 36% of 2024 aquatic-animal production was traded, generating an estimated $186 billion.[9]
Regulation
Sustainability regulation and management remain central because 72.6% of landings in 2023 originated from biologically sustainable stocks, according to FAO. Policy priorities include science-based fisheries management, monitoring and surveillance, action against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, responsible aquaculture, traceability and food safety.[9]
Latest news
FAO’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026 reported record global production of 235 million tonnes in 2024 and the first aquaculture output above 100 million tonnes. The report also recorded $184 billion in aquatic-animal trade and projected aquaculture’s share of production to rise to 56% by 2034.[9]

02 Ranking

Top 9 Companies in the Fishery Industry

The leading companies in the fishery 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 fishery ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with 559,000 tonnes of salmon harvested in 2025. Cooke is the highest-ranked seafood processor at 9.3, with vertically integrated seafood businesses across global aquaculture and wild-fishery divisions.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in atlantic salmon farming

    Mowi

    NO

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Atlantic salmon farming

    Why we picked it: It runs large-scale Atlantic salmon farming and seafood processing, with 559,000 tonnes harvested in 2025.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mowi.com ↗

  2. Leader in seafood processing

    Cooke

    CA

    Ranked #2 · 9.3 · Seafood processing

    Why we picked it: Its mix of aquaculture and wild fisheries pairs with vertically integrated seafood operations for end-to-end control.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cookeseafood.com ↗

  3. Leader in shelf-stable tuna

    Thai Union

    TH

    Ranked #5 · 8.7 · Shelf-stable tuna

    Why we picked it: Its focus on shelf-stable tuna products positions it in the global supply chain from catch to packaged goods.

    See in ranking ↓Visit thaiunion.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 9 companies in the fishery industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Mowi

Atlantic salmon farming · NO

9.5
2

Cooke

Seafood processing · CA

9.3
3

SalMar

Seafood processing · NO

9.2
4

Lerøy Seafood Group

Seafood processing · NO

9.1
5

Thai Union

Shelf-stable tuna · TH

8.7
6

Cermaq Group

Salmon and trout farming in Norway, Chile and Canada · NO

8.5
7

Austevoll Seafood

Pelagic fishing, fishmeal, salmon farming and seafood · NO

8.2
8

Bakkafrost

Faroese and Scottish salmon farming · FO

7.9
9

Trident Seafoods

Alaska wild-capture fishing and seafood processing · US

7.3

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 9 companies in the fishery industry. In Fishery Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/fishery-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

EU aquaculture production by species group

EU aquaculture production by species group fell from 568 thousand tonnes live weight in 2016 to 552 thousand tonnes live weight in 2021.

568
Start
-0.57%
CAGR · 5y
552
Projected
20162021
source-verifiedec.europa.eu2021

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Automation and AI show high placement accuracy in fish counting and sizing, including 73% automatic estimation in a Mediterranean bluefin tuna transfer in 2024.

AI in the fishery industry

  • 73% of fish were automatically estimated in a second Mediterranean bluefin tuna transfer in 2024.[1]
  • 41.98% of bluefin tuna were successfully sized by AI across eight Mediterranean and Adriatic transfers in 2024.[1]
  • 2.3 cm was FishNet's mean absolute error for estimating fish length in stock-estimation tests.[2]
  • 97% was the reported accuracy of a machine-learning model classifying whether fishing trips occurred in state or federal waters.[3]
  • 75% of fish were automatically estimated in one Mediterranean bluefin tuna transfer in 2024.[1]
  • 90% of fish were automatically estimated in one Mediterranean bluefin tuna transfer in 2024.[1]

Automation in the fishery industry

  • 10% or less was the mean absolute percentage error of F1-tuned automated juvenile-fish counting models.[4]
  • 20.52% was the manual sampling rate for Atlantic bluefin tuna measurements across 18 transfers in the 2025 pilot.[1]
  • 18 Atlantic bluefin tuna transfers were included in the 2025 automated video-analysis validation.[1]
  • 2.37 cm was the average automated-measurement error against harvest ground truth across 18 bluefin tuna transfers in 2025.[1]
  • 3.39 cm was the average deviation of automated fish measurements from manual measurements across 18 bluefin tuna transfers in 2025.[1]
  • 5% or less was the operational counting-error threshold judged acceptable for the juvenile-fish aquaculture application.[4]

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

  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[5]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[6]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[5]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[5]
  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[5]

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

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

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

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[5]
  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[8]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[8]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[5]

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

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 17% used big-data technologies in 2023.[5]
  • In Germany, 5.0% of surveyed farms used artificial-intelligence or big-data technologies in 2024–2025.[7]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[5]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data quality and governance remain operational constraints: 69% of food and beverage companies relied on spreadsheets and email for core operations in 2025.

Business intelligence in the fishery industry

  • 600 million livelihoods were supported by the global fisheries and aquaculture sector in 2024, indicating the scale of the industry workforce and dependent communities.[9]
  • $184 billion was the global trade value of aquatic animal products in 2024, an indicator of international seafood-market scale.[9]
  • 13 million tonnes of aquatic animals were produced in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024, with capture fisheries representing 75% of regional output.[9]
  • 103 million tonnes of aquatic animals came from aquaculture globally in 2024, making farmed production a major segment for industry planning and analysis.[9]
  • 235 million tonnes of aquatic products were produced globally in 2024, providing a high-level market baseline for fisheries business intelligence.[9]
  • $173.4 billion in sales impacts were generated by the U.S. seafood industry, including commercial fishing, in 2023.[10]

Data analytics in the fishery industry

  • 8.4 billion pounds of commercial fishery products were landed by U.S. fishermen in 2023, with data classified by species, year, month, state, port, water and gear.[10]
  • 243 minutes per fishing day was the pelagic-longline electronic-monitoring analysis time in 2015 before machine-learning optimization.[11]
  • 1,464 purse-seine tuna trips and 1,215 pelagic-longline trips from 2014–2023 were used to evaluate machine-learning analysis of electronic-monitoring data.[11]
  • 204 million saltwater fishing trips were taken by U.S. anglers in 2023, generating a substantial recreational-fisheries dataset for demand and participation analysis.[12]
  • 78% was the reduction in electronic-monitoring analysis time for tuna purse-seine fisheries, from 210 to 47 minutes per fishing day between 2015 and 2023.[11]
  • 56 minutes per fishing day was the pelagic-longline electronic-monitoring analysis time in 2023 after machine-learning optimization.[11]

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

  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[13]
  • 30% of manufacturing respondents identified poor-quality data as one of their top three challenges when working with AI-related data in 2024.[14]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[13]
  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[14]
  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[14]

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

  • 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.[15]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[16]
  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[15]
  • 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.[14]
  • 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.[14]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[15]

KPIs in the fishery industry

  • 4% of UK fishing-fleet landings came from vessels under 10 metres in 2024 despite those vessels representing 79% of the fleet, an output-concentration KPI.[17]
  • 15.9% was the estimated gross-profit margin of the EU fishing fleet in 2022, an operating-performance KPI.[18]
  • 2.2% of EU fishing-fleet revenue was retained as net profit in 2022, a profitability KPI after costs and other adjustments.[18]
  • 5.1 million days at sea were recorded by the EU fishing fleet in 2022, an effort KPI used in fleet-performance reporting.[18]
  • 72.6% of marine fishery landings came from biologically sustainable stocks in 2023, a global sustainability KPI reported by FAO.[9]
  • 79% of the UK fishing fleet, or 4,140 vessels, was under 10 metres long in 2024, a fleet-structure KPI.[17]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Production mix keeps shifting toward aquaculture, with aquaculture at 53% of total aquatic-animal production in 2024.

Growth in the fishery industry

  • 92 million tonnes of aquatic animals were produced by capture fisheries globally in 2024.[9]
  • 600 million livelihoods were supported by the global fisheries and aquaculture sector in 2024.[9]
  • 9.3 million tonnes of tuna were caught globally in 2024, a record level.[9]
  • 4.4% was the increase in global fisheries and aquaculture production between 2020 and 2022, reaching 223.2 million tonnes.[9]
  • 21.3 kilograms was estimated global per-capita availability of aquatic animal food in 2024.[9]
  • 53% of total aquatic animal production came from aquaculture in 2024.[9]

Differentiation in the fishery industry

  • 91% of commercial salmon catch was MSC-engaged in the year covered by the MSC 2024 annual report.[19]
  • 75% of commercial whitefish catch was MSC-engaged in the year covered by the MSC 2024 annual report.[19]
  • 90% of U.S. wild-fishery landings by volume were MSC certified in 2025.[19]
  • 53% of commercial tuna catch was MSC-engaged in the year covered by the MSC 2024 annual report.[19]
  • 19.5% of global marine wild catch was engaged with the MSC program by 31 March 2026.[19]
  • 20% was the increase in MSC-labeled seafood sales in China in the year covered by the MSC 2024 annual report.[19]

Mergers and acquisitions in the fishery industry

  • $133 million was the announced price for Nissui’s planned acquisition of Chilean salmon farmer Pesquera Yadrán.[20]
  • $800 million of revenue was expected for the combined Mark Foods–Arista entity after the acquisition.[20]
  • 100% of Pesquera Yadrán’s shares were to be acquired by Nissui through its subsidiary Salmones Antartica.[20]
  • 2,770 employees worked for Copeinca when Cooke agreed to acquire the Peruvian fishmeal and fish-oil producer in 2024.[21]
  • 23,000 metric tonnes of fish oil was Copeinca’s approximate annual production when Cooke agreed to acquire it in 2024.[21]
  • 15.9% was Copeinca’s share of Peru’s anchoveta quota when Cooke agreed to acquire the company in 2024.[21]

Strategic partnerships in the fishery industry

  • 33.4% of Torghatten Aqua was purchased by Nova Sea in 2024, making Nova Sea the company’s second-largest shareholder.[20]
  • 75% of Bering North was owned by BSAI Ventures, comprising the Coastal Villages Region Fund and Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation.[22]
  • NOK 2 billion was the announced investment in a Nova Sea–BAADER fish-processing facility in Lovund, Norway.[20]
  • 9 fishing vessels were included in the Evening Star Fisheries interests purchased by the Bering North partnership.[22]
  • 5,000 seafood consumers were surveyed in the MSC 2026 research cited as wanting traceability to a known and trusted source.[19]
  • 71% of seafood consumers surveyed in 2026 wanted fish traceable to a known and trusted source.[19]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce constraints show up as vacancies and skills access issues; 43% of British Columbia commercial fishing and aquaculture employers reported vacancies in 2024.

Hiring in the fishery industry

  • 19% of British Columbia harvesting employers reported hiring temporary foreign workers in 2024.[23]
  • 43% of British Columbia commercial fishing and aquaculture employers reported vacancies in 2024.[23]
  • Nearly 50% of UK skippers and vessel owners rated access to skilled labour as bad or very bad in the 2024 survey.[24]
  • 6,154 full-time-equivalent jobs were provided by 3,731 active UK fishing vessels in 2025.[24]
  • 3,516 full-time-equivalent fishing jobs were recorded in Scotland in 2023.[24]

Employee retention in the fishery industry

  • 91% of sampled UK fishing-fleet workers worked full-time in 2024.[24]
  • 57% of part-time UK vessel owners working on board worked seasonally in 2024.[24]
  • 90% of full-time UK fishing-fleet deckhands worked all year in 2024.[24]
  • 89% of full-time UK fishing-fleet owners working on board worked all year in 2024.[24]
  • 94% of full-time UK fishing-fleet skippers worked all year in 2024.[24]

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

  • 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.[25]
  • 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.[26]
  • 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.[25]
  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[27]

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

  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed globally in 2024, respondents averaged 2.1 work-at-home days per week.[28]
  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[29]
  • 84% of Australian agribusiness organisations planned no change to existing flexible or hybrid work arrangements in 2026.[30]
  • 33% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working in hybrid arrangements in 2024.[29]
  • 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.[28]

Upskilling in the fishery industry

  • 300,000 people were targeted for fisheries and aquaculture research and technical training during 2021–2024 under a CACFish capacity-development plan.[9]
  • Four UK fishing-sector training routes were cited by Seafish in 2025: commercial fishing courses, fisher apprenticeships, the Diploma in Sea Fishing and trainee-deckhand maritime studies.[24]
  • 77% of Great Lakes commercial fishing and seafood-processing respondents said they were willing to teach employees the necessary skills on the job.[31]
  • 60,000 people were targeted for fisheries and aquaculture capacity-development activities during 2021–2024 under a CACFish plan.[9]
  • 2.4 million registered municipal and small-scale fisherfolk were covered by a Philippines fishing-safety training initiative in 2023.[9]

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

  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[32]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[32]
  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[33]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[32]
  • 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.[32]

DEI in the fishery industry

  • Women represented just over 46% of the global fish-processing workforce in the latest FAO time series cited for 2021.[9]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer experience in the fishery industry

  • Two-thirds of U.S. consumers said simple cooking tips would help them eat more seafood in 2025.[34]
  • Nearly 80% of U.S. consumers likely to buy frozen seafood cited convenience as a significant purchase factor in 2025.[34]
  • 23% of U.S. consumers said they would eat more seafood if they knew its source in 2025.[34]
  • 42% of U.S. seafood shoppers cited total price as a purchase factor in 2025.[35]
  • 71% of U.S. seafood shoppers ranked product quality as the most important purchase factor in 2025.[35]

Customer retention in the fishery industry

  • U.S. seafood buyers made 17 trips per buyer during the 52 weeks ending September 7, 2025.[36]
  • 10% of U.S. seafood shoppers generated 40% of retail seafood purchases in 2025.[20]
  • 92% of U.S. seafood buyers repurchased seafood in 2025.[36]
  • U.S. fresh-seafood buyers made 8.7 annual trips per buyer during 2024.[37]
  • 25% of U.S. grocery shoppers were frequent seafood shoppers in 2019, compared with 32% in 2024.[20]

Customer acquisition in the fishery industry

  • 44% of U.S. seafood buyers had purchased frozen seafood online by 2026.[20]
  • 61% of surveyed U.S. consumers said they ate seafood at least once a week in 2024.[38]
  • 60% of surveyed U.S. consumers said healthier protein was a reason they ate more seafood in 2024.[38]
  • 44% of U.S. seafood consumers had purchased seafood online by 2025.[39]
  • 54% of surveyed U.S. consumers said they ate more seafood in 2024 than two years earlier.[38]

Customer loyalty in the fishery industry

  • About one-third of U.S. seafood consumers bought all their seafood from a single store in 2025.[20]
  • 34% of U.S. seafood consumers bought all their seafood from their primary store in 2018.[40]
  • 37% of U.S. consumers used traditional grocery stores as their main seafood purchasing location in 2025.[20]
  • 2% of consumers surveyed across 14 countries spontaneously thought about sustainability when shopping for fish or seafood in supermarkets in 2023.[41]
  • 80% of U.S. consumers preferred wild-caught seafood over farmed seafood in 2025.[34]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Brand and certification activity is measurable in volume terms, including $13.4 billion retail value of MSC-labelled seafood sold in the year to March 2024.

Marketing in the fishery industry

  • $1 billion in Alaska seafood sales was facilitated through USDA food-aid programs over two decades by ASMI.[36]
  • More than 60% of the reported U.S. direct seafood marketing workforce worked full time in the survey summarized by NOAA.[10]
  • 18% of the reported U.S. direct seafood marketing workforce was female in NOAA’s survey.[10]
  • 30–40 million people per year are exposed to commercially available Alaska seafood products through ASMI-supported government programs.[36]
  • $214 million in Alaska seafood products was sold through federal food programs during the first 10 months of federal fiscal year 2024.[36]

Digital marketing in the fishery industry

  • 175,000-plus consumer social engagements were recorded by Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s 2024 Fall in Love With Seafood campaign.[42]
  • 1.07 million impressions were generated by influencer content in ASMI’s Always in Season campaign.[36]
  • 5.3 billion impressions were generated by phase two of ASMI’s Always in Season digital campaign in a three-month period in 2025.[36]
  • 3.5% was the social-media click-through rate for Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s 2024 Fall in Love With Seafood campaign.[42]
  • 1,700% growth in Alaska seafood website visits was achieved over three months after ASMI launched a Google Ads campaign in spring 2024.[36]

Branding in the fishery industry

  • 1.2 million tonnes of MSC-labelled seafood were sold in the year to March 2024.[19]
  • 28% of consumers believed independent certification helps protect the ocean in MSC’s 2024 survey.[19]
  • $13.4 billion was the retail value of MSC-labelled seafood sold in the year to March 2024.[19]
  • 53% of surveyed consumers said the Best Aquaculture Practices label would influence their decision to buy or eat seafood.[43]
  • 20,910 MSC-labelled products were available to consumers in 2023/24, up from 8,583 in 2013/14.[19]

Social media in the fishery industry

  • 618 saved posts were recorded in ASMI Northern Europe’s holiday sockeye influencer campaign.[36]
  • 8.2 million domestic ASMI-owned social-media impressions were generated in fiscal year 2024.[36]
  • 20.6 million international ASMI-owned social-media impressions were generated in fiscal year 2024.[36]
  • 6.8 million additional impressions were generated by influencers in the Global Shrimp Council’s 2025 campaign.[20]
  • 124,525 reel plays were generated by ASMI Northern Europe’s holiday sockeye campaign in Northern Europe.[36]

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.[44]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[44]
  • Food and drink influencer content involved 78,800 profiles globally in 2023, based on Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[44]
  • Food and drink influencer content produced an estimated $122 billion in earned media value globally in 2023.[44]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[44]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Processing choices tilt toward freezing, with 62% of processed aquatic animal production for human consumption frozen globally.

Process optimization in the fishery industry

  • 89% of global aquatic animal production was directed to human consumption, according to FAO’s 2026 global assessment.[9]
  • 103 million tonnes of aquatic animals were produced by aquaculture in 2024, surpassing 100 million tonnes for the first time.[9]
  • 12.3 million tonnes of aquatic animals were produced by inland fisheries in 2024, a record level according to FAO.[9]
  • 9.3 million tonnes of tuna were caught globally in 2024, the highest tuna catch reported by FAO.[9]
  • 62% of processed aquatic animal production for human consumption was frozen, making freezing the dominant global preservation method.[45]

Operational efficiency in the fishery industry

  • 60 UK whitefish-processing sites supported 1,108 full-time-equivalent jobs in 2018.[24]
  • 72% of UK primary-processing sites had 25 or fewer employees, indicating a predominantly small-site operating structure.[24]
  • 51 UK secondary-processing sites supported 2,832 full-time-equivalent jobs in 2018.[24]
  • 336 UK seafood-processing sites supported 18,636 full-time-equivalent jobs in 2025.[24]
  • 54 UK sites specialized in secondary seafood processing such as freezing, smoking, canning, brining, breading or ready-meal production.[24]

Quality management in the fishery industry

  • 53% of the commercial tuna catch was MSC engaged in 2024.[19]
  • 141 MSC Group certificates were active in 2024.[19]
  • 75% of the commercial whitefish catch was MSC engaged in 2024.[19]
  • 932 MSC multisite certificates were recorded in 2024, an increase of 640 certificates from 2015.[19]
  • 171 MSC Customer-Facing Organisation certificates were active in 2024.[19]

Supply chain in the fishery industry

  • U.S. seafood processors produced 2.5 billion pounds of processed products worth $5.3 billion in 2023.[46]
  • The United States exported 2.5 billion pounds of edible seafood products in 2023.[47]
  • At least one-third of global aquatic production was traded internationally in 2024, according to FAO.[9]
  • $69.2 billion in value-added impacts were generated by U.S. commercial fishing and seafood industries in 2023.[47]
  • 80% of seafood consumed in the United States in 2023 was estimated to come from foreign imports.[47]

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

  • 19% of surveyed Queensland food-processing businesses contracted work out in 2010, while 28% contracted work in and 15% did both.[48]
  • 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.[49]
  • 2% of Canadian food and beverage companies outsourced production entirely to third-party manufacturers in 2020.[50]
  • 66% of Queensland food-processing businesses engaged in contract manufacturing to some extent in 2010, including contracting work in or out.[48]
  • 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.[51]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Pricing pressure varies by segment, including a projected 15% real aquaculture price decline by 2035 versus the 2023–2025 average.

Pricing strategy in the fishery industry

  • 15% was the projected decline in real aquaculture prices by 2035 compared with the 2023–2025 average.[7]
  • $453 million was the 2023 U.S. landing value for salmon.[52]
  • 17% was the 2024 average price increase for UK pelagic species, driven by mackerel, herring and blue whiting.[24]
  • $524 million was the 2023 U.S. landing value for Alaska pollock.[52]
  • 32% was the decline in Alaska vessel revenues from 2022 to 2023, caused partly by falling prices across major species groups.[10]

Cost reduction in the fishery industry

  • 72% of demersal fish processors’ total income was represented by raw-material costs in the UK in 2018.[24]
  • 16% of 2020 annual EU fleet gross profit was the estimated impact of a €0.10-per-litre fuel-price increase.[53]
  • 20% to 30% increases in raw-material costs were modelled to push UK demersal processors’ operating, net-profit and GVA margins into negative territory.[24]
  • 10% was the decrease in French fleet energy consumption per landed tonne in 2022.[54]
  • 50% of landing value was the reported maximum share that energy costs could represent in fuel-intensive EU fleet segments.[53]

Profitability in the fishery industry

  • 0.5% was the estimated average annual profit margin of the U.S. Gulf shrimp fishery over the 18 years through 2023.[10]
  • 13% was the decline in UK fishing-fleet profit in 2022 compared with 2021.[24]
  • €1.0 billion was the EU fishing fleet’s estimated gross profit in 2023.[18]
  • €59 million was the EU fishing fleet’s total net profit in 2023.[18]
  • 50% was the decline in Alaska fishing-industry profitability from 2021 to 2023.[10]

Financial planning in the fishery industry

  • $69.2 billion was the 2023 value-added impact of the U.S. commercial seafood industry.[47]
  • $173.4 billion was the 2023 economic sales impact of the U.S. commercial seafood industry, including commercial fishing.[47]
  • 73,974 full-time-equivalent jobs were represented by EU fishing-fleet direct employment in 2023.[18]
  • €3.2 billion was the EU fishing fleet’s estimated gross value added in 2023.[18]
  • 5.2 million days at sea were recorded by the EU fishing fleet in 2023.[18]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Product outputs remain tied to preservation and by-products; fish heads account for approximately 9%–12% of total fish weight in processing by-products.

Product development in the fishery industry

  • 561 million pounds of farmed seafood were produced in the United States in 2024, generating $1.3 billion in edible seafood value.[10]
  • 759.2 million pounds of raw fish fillets were produced in the United States in 2023, valued at $2.7 billion.[10]
  • 394.5 million pounds of U.S. Pacific pollock fillets were produced in 2023, representing 48% of total raw fillet production.[10]
  • 304.2 million pounds of U.S. canned fishery products in 2023 were produced for bait and animal food, valued at $240 million.[10]
  • 530.5 million pounds of fish meal were produced in the United States in 2023.[10]

Product lifecycle in the fishery industry

  • Fish heads account for approximately 9%–12% of total fish weight in processing by-products.[9]
  • By-products can represent up to 70% of processed fish, depending on species, size and processing method.[9]
  • 10% of aquatic food for direct human consumption was cured in 2020.[9]
  • 89% of global fisheries and aquaculture production was used for direct human consumption in 2020, while 11% went to non-food uses.[9]
  • 81% of aquatic animal production used for non-food purposes in 2020 was reduced to fishmeal and fish oil.[9]

Value proposition in the fishery industry

  • 44% of European consumers said environmental information should appear on seafood labels in 2021.[53]
  • 26,510 people participated in the 2024 EU survey on fishery and aquaculture product habits across 27 Member States.[53]
  • EU per-capita consumption of fishery and aquaculture products fell to 22.9 kilograms in 2023, the lowest level of the decade.[18]
  • 15% of Europeans never consumed fishery or aquaculture products at home in 2024.[53]
  • 40% of Europeans who increased fish consumption during the COVID-19 crisis cited greater health consciousness in 2021.[53]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability coverage is tracked via biologically sustainable landings, with 72.6% of marine fishery landings coming from biologically sustainable stocks in 2023.

Sustainability in the fishery industry

  • 103 million tonnes of aquatic animals were produced by aquaculture globally in 2024.[9]
  • Only 2 of 30 assessed seafood companies had time-bound traceability targets in 2023.[55]
  • 2,570 individual marine fish stocks were assessed for biological sustainability in the FAO’s 2025 review.[9]
  • 72.6% of global marine-fish landings came from biologically sustainable stocks in 2023.[9]
  • 64.5% of global fishery resources were biologically sustainable in 2021, down from 90% in 1974.[9]

ESG in the fishery industry

  • Asian seafood companies averaged 22 out of 100 in the 2026 Ocean Benchmark.[55]
  • 9 seafood companies in SeaBOS represented more than 19% of international seafood trade in 2023.[20]
  • North American seafood companies averaged 4 out of 100 in the 2026 Ocean Benchmark.[55]
  • SeaBOS member companies generated more than USD 30 billion in annual turnover in 2023.[20]
  • European seafood companies averaged 27 out of 100 in the 2026 Ocean Benchmark.[55]

Ethics in the fishery industry

  • More than 2,700 fishing vessels spent over 180 days at sea during 2023.[56]
  • Only 5 additional companies began implementing some human-rights due-diligence steps between the 2021 and 2023 Seafood Stewardship Indexes.[55]
  • Fishing vessels tracked in Oceana’s analysis conducted nearly 2,800 voyages lasting more than 180 days during 2023.[56]
  • At least 128,000 people were estimated to be in forced labor at sea worldwide in 2021.[56]
  • Taiwan accounted for 285 fishing vessels engaged in long voyages in Oceana’s 2023 analysis.[56]

CSR in the fishery industry

  • 8,986 employees worked for Grupo Nueva Pescanova in 2024.[57]
  • 10.6 hours was the average training time per Grupo Nueva Pescanova employee in 2024.[57]
  • 84% of employment generated by Grupo Nueva Pescanova was in Africa and Latin America in 2024.[57]
  • 15 communities benefited from Grupo Nueva Pescanova’s community activities in 2024.[57]
  • 89% of global aquatic-animal production was directed to human consumption in 2024.[9]

Circular economy in the fishery industry

  • 2.8% of Norwegian salmon-industry rendering inputs were unprocessed or deformed fish in the studied annual material flow.[58]
  • 4.7–5.5 million tonnes of by-products are generated annually by finfish processing worldwide, according to a 2026 review.[3]
  • 0.2% of Norwegian salmon-industry rendering inputs were processing-floor drops in the studied annual material flow.[58]
  • 56% of Grupo Nueva Pescanova’s packaging material was recycled material in 2024.[57]
  • 25% of Norwegian salmon-industry rendering inputs were production mortalities in the studied annual material flow.[58]

Carbon footprint in the fishery industry

  • Thai Union reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 21% from its 2021 baseline by 2024.[59]
  • Thai Union’s total greenhouse-gas emissions were 3,157,818 tonnes CO2e in 2024.[59]
  • Thai Union reduced coal consumption by 46% compared with 2021 by 2024.[59]
  • Thai Union reported 2,751,955 metric tonnes of Scope 3 emissions in 2024.[59]
  • Thai Union reported 227,901 metric tonnes of Scope 1 emissions in 2024.[59]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Trade still concentrates through major blocs, with the European Union accounting for approximately 35% of total world fish imports by value in 2024.

Globalization in the fishery industry

  • Norway exported $15.98 billion of fisheries and aquaculture products in 2024.[9]
  • The European Union imported €30.1 billion of fisheries and aquaculture products in 2023.[53]
  • 65 million tonnes of fish and fisheries products were traded internationally in 2023, down 4.3% from 2022.[9]
  • The European Union accounted for approximately 35% of total world fish imports by value in 2024.[9]
  • The European Union traded 8.1 million tonnes of fisheries and aquaculture products in 2023.[53]

Cultural adaptation in the fishery industry

  • 36.80 kilograms per person was Spain’s fish and seafood supply in 2023.[9]
  • 69.11 kilograms per person was Hong Kong’s fish and seafood supply in 2023.[9]
  • 72.27 kilograms per person was Kiribati’s fish and seafood supply in 2023.[9]
  • 49.10 kilograms per person was Norway’s fish and seafood supply in 2023.[9]
  • 54.2 kilograms per person was Portugal’s fish and seafood consumption in 2021.[9]

Supplier management in the fishery industry

  • Small-scale fisheries generated an estimated $77.2 billion in landed economic value.[9]
  • 60.2 million people were employed along small-scale fisheries value chains in 2016.[66]
  • 52.8 million people participated in small-scale fisheries harvesting or processing for subsistence in 2016.[66]
  • 21 million women were estimated to work in small-scale capture fisheries in 2022.[66]
  • 35% of small-scale fisheries value-chain employment was held by women in 2016.[66]

Stakeholder management in the fishery industry

  • 113 million people were employed or engaged in subsistence activities in small-scale fisheries in 2016.[66]
  • 90% of surveyed small-scale fishery-producer organizations were committed to greater sustainability.[9]
  • 60% of surveyed small-scale fishery-producer organizations were committed to greater human well-being.[9]
  • 22.1 million people were engaged in aquaculture primary production in 2022.[9]
  • 45.2% of people engaged in small-scale fisheries harvesting or processing for subsistence were women in 2016.[66]

Distribution channels in the fishery industry

  • 34% of German seafood consumers purchased fish from fishmongers or specialist shops in 2024.[67]
  • 68.8% of surveyed United States seafood businesses sold directly to consumers in 2023.[68]
  • 55.1% of surveyed United States seafood businesses used an identified distributor in 2023.[68]
  • 34.8% of surveyed United States seafood businesses sold directly to food services in 2023.[68]
  • 50% of French household sole volume was sold through large retail channels.[67]

Key questions about the fishery industry

What is the current scale of global fisheries and aquaculture production?
Global fisheries and aquaculture production reached 195 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2024, within a reported 235 million tonnes of aquatic products including algae.
How fast is aquatic-animal production growing through the next decade?
FAO projects aquatic-animal production to reach 214 million tonnes by 2034 from 195 million tonnes in 2024, implying about a 0.9% CAGR over 2024–2034.
Which companies lead the fishery industry?
Mowi leads Gitnux's 2026 fishery ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with 559,000 tonnes of salmon harvested in 2025. Cooke is the highest-ranked seafood processor at 9.3, with vertically integrated seafood businesses across global aquaculture and wild-fishery divisions.
Where is technology adoption showing measurable impact in fishery operations?
Tech reporting includes 73% of fish automatically estimated in a second Mediterranean bluefin tuna transfer in 2024, and 97% accuracy for classifying state vs federal waters.
How is the industry structured between capture fisheries and aquaculture?
Capture fisheries produced about 92 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2024, while aquaculture produced 103 million tonnes, making aquaculture 53% of total aquatic-animal production.
How much of production is traded internationally?
International trade is trade-led: about 36% of 2024 aquatic-animal production was traded, generating an estimated $186 billion.
Reference

Cite This Report

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

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