Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in China

China: Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture was 81.95 million metric tons in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
81.95 million metric tons
Change on year
up 4.7%
World rank
1st
of 215 countries
All-time high
81.95 million metric tons
in 2024
All-time low
741,121 metric tons
in 1962
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in China, 1960–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M196019922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in metric tons.

Analysis

The most recent figure for seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in China is 81.95 million metric tons, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.7% on the previous year and up 43.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in China peaked at 81.95 million metric tons in 2024 and was at its lowest, 741,121 metric tons, in 1962.

That places China 1st out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 1.10 million metric tons 741,121 metric tons 1.51 million metric tons 10
1970s 2.20 million metric tons 1.48 million metric tons 2.99 million metric tons 10
1980s 4.98 million metric tons 3.03 million metric tons 8.10 million metric tons 10
1990s 18.57 million metric tons 8.39 million metric tons 28.00 million metric tons 10
2000s 37.86 million metric tons 29.75 million metric tons 46.06 million metric tons 10
2010s 58.20 million metric tons 47.79 million metric tons 68.42 million metric tons 10
2020s 75.79 million metric tons 70.48 million metric tons 81.95 million metric tons 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 2 Indonesia 15.75 million metric tons compare
  2. 3 India 12.09 million metric tons compare
  3. 4 Vietnam 5.65 million metric tons compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in China?
Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in China was 81.95 million metric tons in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 81.95 million metric tons in 2024.
What is the lowest seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 741,121 metric tons in 1962.
How does China rank for seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture?
China ranks 1st out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
Is seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 43.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture
Unit
metric tons
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 12,849 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Capture fishery production is the volume of wild fish catches landed for all commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes.