Global fisheries and aquaculture production reached a record 235 million tonnes in 2024, with aquatic animal production from aquaculture surpassing 100 million tonnes for the first time, according to a press release by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The findings are detailed in the latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA 2026) report, launched on Tuesday at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya. Trade in aquatic animal products climbed to $184 billion, now rivaling terrestrial meat trade in value. However, the report stresses that ensuring sustainable and equitable growth of marine and inland ecosystems remains a key challenge. SOFIA 2026 confirms the sector’s expanding role in feeding the world while flagging persistent equity and sustainability concerns.
Wild fisheries have largely stabilized, reflecting ecological limits and effective management of some stocks, while aquatic animal production has grown an average of 3.2 percent annually since the 1950s. In 2024, aquaculture production of aquatic animals reached 103 million tonnes, valued at $371 billion at farm gate. Capture fisheries output reached about 92 million tonnes, remaining within the 86–94 million tonnes range maintained since the late 1980s. Aquaculture now provides 53 percent of total aquatic animal production and over 59 percent of aquatic animal food output. Including algae, aquaculture produced 141 million tonnes valued at $391 billion.
Aquatic animal foods are increasingly central to diets, with 89 percent of production going to human consumption and supplying at least one-fifth of the animal protein intake of 3.1 billion people. The sector supports more than 600 million livelihoods worldwide. Yet benefits remain uneven: in Asia the sector provides 26.3 kg per person, while in Africa availability stands at only 9.1 kg per individual. Global per capita availability averaged 21.1 kg in 2023, rising to an estimated 21.3 kg in 2024. In 2023, 72.6 percent of all landings originated from biologically sustainable stocks.
The sector also faces mounting pressures from climate change, environmental degradation, economic shocks, and geopolitical shifts. Under high emissions scenarios, exploitable fish biomass is projected to decline by over 10 percent by 2050 in several regions.
“The report illustrates that, more than ever before, a healthy planet requires a healthy ocean and healthy inland waters,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu wrote in the Foreword. He added that efforts must be made “to reverse the decline in sustainability and secure the long-term potential of the sector, for generations to come.”
Tuna catches reached a record 9.3 million tonnes in 2024, while anchoveta catches rose by 109 percent to over 5.0 million tonnes.
FAO works with Members and partners through its Blue Transformation Roadmap 2022-2030 to improve sustainability, productivity, and inclusiveness. In aquaculture, FAO promotes science-based governance, spatial planning, and innovation, including climate-smart and integrated systems such as rice–fish farming. In capture fisheries, FAO supports stronger governance, better data, and enhanced monitoring, while helping countries implement the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries. Between 1976 and 2024, export value rose more than twenty-threefold, with over one-third of production now traded internationally. FAO projects total aquatic animal production to reach 214 million tonnes by 2034.
