Global Fish Farming Tops 100 Million Tonnes as Aquatic Food Trade Reaches $184 Billion

A milestone for aquaculture

FAO's State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026 report, released in June, estimates that farmed aquatic animal production exceeded 100 million tonnes in 2024 for the first time. The agency values aquaculture production at approximately $371 billion at the farm gate.

The global figure differs from the report's headline 235 million tonnes of total fisheries and aquaculture output, which includes aquatic plants. Around 195 million tonnes were aquatic animals across capture and farmed production. Keeping the categories separate prevents a distorted picture of seafood supply.

Trade now rivals the meat industry

The report values international trade in aquatic animal products at about $184 billion. More than one-third of production is internationally traded. This makes refrigeration, veterinary and aquatic animal health, ports and cross-border market access commercially important far beyond coastal fishing communities.

Wild capture fisheries remain relatively stable: FAO puts 2024 aquatic animal catch at about 92 million tonnes. Growth in available aquatic foods is increasingly associated with aquaculture, which has a different production model and different exposure to feed prices and disease outbreaks.

Supply growth is not the same as sustainability

FAO estimates that 72.6% of reported fish landings in 2023 came from biologically sustainable stocks, but this volume-weighted indicator is not the same as the share of assessed stocks that meet sustainability criteria.

For seafood buyers and processors, the market opportunity must be considered alongside environmental safeguards, traceability and equitable access. These are June 2026 figures used here for an evergreen industry analysis, not a newly announced October production result.

Sources and image credit

Original source: https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/sofia-2026--global-fisheries-and-aquaculture-production-reaches-new-highs/

Cover photograph: Pexels. Original image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/aerial-view-of-fish-farm-with-circular-nets-30780717/ (illustrative; not the named facility or organisation).