Fish places
Rivers, reefs, harbours, fish markets and aquariums where fish and people meet. 51 places so far.
South Asia
River or lake, IndiaChilika LakeIndia's largest coastal lagoon, on the Odisha coast, a brackish fishery for mullets, milkfish and prawns.River or lake, IndiaCorbett and the RamgangaThe Himalayan foothill river inside Corbett National Park, famous for the golden mahseer and the giant goonch.River or lake, IndiaEast Kolkata WetlandsSewage-fed fish ponds on Kolkata's eastern edge, a Ramsar site where the city's waste water grows carps and tilapia.Fish market, IndiaGariahat market, KolkataA busy south Kolkata bazaar whose fish stalls show the full range of Bengali fish, from hilsa and rohu to pabda and koi.Fish market, IndiaHowrah wholesale fish marketA huge wholesale fish market across the river from Kolkata, where carps arrive overnight by truck and rail.Aquarium or research, IndiaICAR-CIFA, BhubaneswarIndia's national research institute for freshwater fish farming, which bred the improved Jayanti rohu.Fishing harbour, IndiaKasimedu, ChennaiChennai's busy fishing harbour and market at Royapuram, where vanjaram, the seer fish, is king.Fishing harbour, IndiaKochi and the Chinese fishing netsThe shore-operated Chinese fishing nets of Fort Kochi, a busy fishing harbour and India's main marine fisheries institute.Reef or sea, IndiaLakshadweepIndia's coral atolls in the Arabian Sea, where islanders still catch skipjack tuna by pole and line.River or lake, IndiaLoktak LakeNorth-East India's largest freshwater lake, with floating islands called phumdis and a fishery hit by the Ithai barrage.Fishing harbour, IndiaMangaluru fishing harbourKarnataka's main fishing port, landing mackerel, sardine and seer fish for the coast's famous fish curries.Fishing harbour, IndiaRatnagiri and the Konkan coastThe main fishing town of Maharashtra's Konkan coast, with the Mirkarwada harbour and a college of fisheries.Fishing harbour, IndiaSassoon Dock, MumbaiMumbai's oldest wet dock, at Colaba, where the Koli fishers land bombil, pomfret and surmai before dawn.Reef or sea, IndiaThe Andaman IslandsIndia's richest coral reefs, in the Andaman Sea, with clownfish, humphead wrasse and large reef predators.River or lake, IndiaThe GangesIndia's great river, home of the wild Indian major carps, the goonch, the chital and the rare Ganges shark.River or lake, IndiaThe HooghlyThe Ganges distributary that runs past Kolkata to the sea, India's main hilsa river and home of the bhetki and topse.Reef or sea, MaldivesThe MaldivesCoral atolls of the Indian Ocean with a pole and line tuna fishery and some of the world's best manta and whale shark sites.River or lake, BangladeshThe Padma and Meghna at ChandpurWhere the Padma meets the Meghna, the heart of the hilsa fishery of Bangladesh, which lands most of the world's hilsa.River or lake, IndiaThe SundarbansThe world's largest mangrove forest, on the Ganges delta in India and Bangladesh, a vast nursery for fish and shrimp.River or lake, IndiaVembanad and the Kerala backwatersKerala's largest lake and the heart of its backwaters, home of the karimeen, the pearlspot.Fishing harbour, IndiaVeravalOne of India's largest fishing harbours, on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat, landing ribbonfish, croakers and Bombay duck.River or lake, IndiaWestern Ghats rivers and the KaveriThe fast hill rivers of the Western Ghats, home of the hump-backed mahseer of the Kaveri and many fish found nowhere else.
Southeast Asia
Reef or sea, IndonesiaThe Coral TriangleThe seas of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands, richest in reef fish on Earth.River or lake, CambodiaThe Mekong and Tonle SapThe world's largest inland fishery, home of the Mekong giant catfish and the giant freshwater stingray.
East Asia
Fish market, South KoreaJagalchi Market, BusanSouth Korea's largest seafood market, on Busan's waterfront, known for its women vendors and live fish tanks.Aquarium or research, JapanOkinawa Churaumi AquariumThe aquarium at Motobu, Okinawa, whose Kuroshio Sea tank holds whale sharks and manta rays.Aquarium or research, JapanOsaka Aquarium KaiyukanA large aquarium on Osaka Bay built around the Pacific Rim, with a central tank holding whale sharks.Fish market, JapanToyosu Market, TokyoTokyo's wholesale fish market since 2018, successor to Tsukiji and home of the New Year tuna auction.
Sub-Saharan Africa
River or lake, Kenya, 1 fishLake VictoriaAfrica's largest lake, shared by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, where the introduced Nile perch transformed the fish life.River or lake, MalawiLake MalawiThe East African Rift lake with more fish species than any other lake, mostly cichlids found nowhere else.River or lake, TanzaniaLake TanganyikaThe world's longest freshwater lake and second deepest, with ancient cichlids and a sardine fishery.Reef or sea, South AfricaThe Sardine Run coastSouth Africa's Wild Coast, where shoals of sardines move north each winter, followed by sharks, dolphins and gannets.
Europe
River or lake, Russia, 1 fishLake BaikalThe world's deepest and oldest lake, in Siberia, home of the omul and the see-through golomyanka.City, NorwayBergenNorway's old Hanseatic port, with a waterfront fish market and the country's main marine research institute.Fish market, United KingdomBillingsgate Fish MarketBritain's largest inland fish market, moved from the City of London to Poplar in 1982.Fishing harbour, United KingdomGrimsbyOnce among the world's largest fishing ports, now a centre of fish processing and traditional smoked fish.Fishing harbour, NorwayLofotenArctic islands where the skrei cod come to spawn each winter and are dried on wooden racks as stockfish.Fishing harbour, United KingdomPeterheadThe largest fishing port in the United Kingdom by value, on Scotland's north-east coast.Reef or sea, RussiaThe Caspian Sea and Volga deltaThe world's largest inland water body, once the source of most of the world's wild caviar.
North America
River or lake, United States, 1 fishBristol BayThe south-west Alaska bay and rivers with the largest sockeye salmon run in the world.Aquarium or research, United StatesGeorgia AquariumAn Atlanta aquarium whose Ocean Voyager tank is the only place in the United States that keeps whale sharks.Aquarium or research, United StatesMonterey Bay AquariumThe aquarium on Cannery Row in a former sardine cannery, known for its kelp forest and its Seafood Watch guide.Fish market, United StatesPike Place Market, SeattleSeattle's public market since 1907, where fishmongers throw salmon across the counter.River or lake, United StatesThe Columbia River at BonnevilleThe first big dam on the Columbia, where salmon climb fish ladders past windows that count every fish.Reef or sea, CanadaThe Grand Banks of NewfoundlandShallow banks off Newfoundland, once the richest cod grounds on Earth, closed after the cod collapsed in 1992.
Latin America and the Caribbean
River or lake, Brazil, 1 fishThe Amazon at ManausThe world's richest river for fish, where the dark Rio Negro meets the muddy Solimoes, home of arapaima and piranhas.Reef or sea, EcuadorThe Galapagos IslandsVolcanic islands on the equator in the Pacific, where cold and warm currents meet and hammerheads school by the hundred.Reef or sea, MexicoThe Sea of CortezThe Gulf of California, between Baja California and mainland Mexico, with whale sharks, mobulas and the totoaba.