Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in South Korea

South Korea: Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture was 2.28 million metric tons in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
2.28 million metric tons
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
6th
of 215 countries
All-time high
2.44 million metric tons
in 2021
All-time low
17,404 metric tons
in 1961
Years of data
65
1960–2024

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

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M196019922024

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

South Korea recorded 2.28 million metric tons for seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in 2024.

That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and up 45.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in South Korea peaked at 2.44 million metric tons in 2021 and was at its lowest, 17,404 metric tons, in 1961.

South Korea ranks 6th of 215 countries on this measure, 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 66,078 metric tons 17,404 metric tons 105,769 metric tons 10
1970s 318,795 metric tons 124,058 metric tons 493,461 metric tons 10
1980s 755,405 metric tons 545,133 metric tons 952,388 metric tons 10
1990s 921,035 metric tons 777,711 metric tons 1.09 million metric tons 10
2000s 1.04 million metric tons 667,883 metric tons 1.40 million metric tons 10
2010s 1.80 million metric tons 1.38 million metric tons 2.40 million metric tons 10
2020s 2.34 million metric tons 2.28 million metric tons 2.44 million metric tons 5

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 3 India 12.09 million metric tons compare
  2. 4 Vietnam 5.65 million metric tons compare
  3. 5 Bangladesh 2.98 million metric tons compare
  4. 7 Philippines 2.22 million metric tons compare
  5. 8 Norway 1.67 million metric tons compare
  6. 9 Egypt 1.60 million metric tons compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in South Korea?
Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture in South Korea was 2.28 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 South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 2.44 million metric tons in 2021.
What is the lowest seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 17,404 metric tons in 1961.
How does South Korea rank for seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture?
South Korea ranks 6th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
Is seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 45.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea 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.