What is the difference in wild fish catch from bottom trawling between Iceland and Japan?

147,432 tonnes, with Japan ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Japan?

69 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2018.

Where does this data come from?

Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Wild fish catch from bottom trawling. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Iceland vs Japan: Wild fish catch from bottom trawling

Iceland

270,807 tonnes

in 2018

Japan

418,239 tonnes

in 2018

Iceland rank

18th

Japan rank

15th

Wild fish catch from bottom trawling over time

Iceland
Japan

How they compare

Japan currently reports 418,239 tonnes against 270,807 tonnes in Iceland, a difference of 147,432 tonnes.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.5 times Iceland's.

Across all 69 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.

Iceland ranks 18th and Japan ranks 15th of 111 countries.

Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Iceland	Japan	Difference	Ahead
1950s	394,040 tonnes	667,525 tonnes	273,484 tonnes	Japan
1960s	266,624 tonnes	1.80 million tonnes	1.53 million tonnes	Japan
1970s	275,882 tonnes	3.50 million tonnes	3.22 million tonnes	Japan
1980s	415,198 tonnes	2.65 million tonnes	2.24 million tonnes	Japan
1990s	259,125 tonnes	1.67 million tonnes	1.41 million tonnes	Japan
2000s	244,419 tonnes	1.09 million tonnes	845,109 tonnes	Japan
2010s	227,700 tonnes	859,321 tonnes	631,621 tonnes	Japan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher wild fish catch from bottom trawling, Iceland or Japan?: Japan, at 418,239 tonnes against 270,807 tonnes in Iceland as of 2018.
What is the difference in wild fish catch from bottom trawling between Iceland and Japan?: 147,432 tonnes, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Japan?: 69 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2018.
How do Iceland and Japan rank globally for wild fish catch from bottom trawling?: Iceland ranks 18th and Japan ranks 15th of 111 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Wild fish catch from bottom trawling. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Iceland vs Japan: Wild fish catch from bottom trawling. Statizoid, drawing on Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/bottom-trawling/iceland/japan/

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About this data

Indicator: Wild fish catch from bottom trawling
Unit: tonnes
Source: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 111 places, 6,156 data points, 1950–2018
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Bottom trawling is a fishing method in which a large, heavy net is dragged along the seafloor to catch fish and other marine life.