FAO Fishing Areas by Catch 2024

What this chart shows. Where the world catch came out of the water in 2024, using the major fishing areas that FAO defines for statistical work. Twelve areas are listed, each one the sum of every fleet that landed fish from it during the year.

How the data is collected. Every landing in the database carries the area it was taken from as well as the species and the flag state, so area totals are built from the same national returns as the country and species tables. FAO divides the globe into eight major inland fishing areas and nineteen major marine ones, all agreed internationally for fishery statistics.

Background. The marine areas follow ocean basins rather than political borders, which is why one area can cover the waters of many states plus the high seas beyond them. Inland areas group the rivers and lakes of a whole continent, so a landlocked country reports into the same area as its coastal neighbours.

Limits. An area total describes where fish were removed, not who removed them: distant-water fleets land large volumes far from home, and the flag rule assigns their catch to their own country in the national tables. Areas with little fishing are outside the twelve shown, and the Antarctic areas use a fishing season that ends in the calendar year reported.