News
SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish

Fish and people

How people know a fish.

Food fishCaught and eaten around the world.72FarmedRaised in ponds, cages and tanks.20Aquarium fishKept in home and public aquariums.33Sport fishingPrized by anglers.36Culture and faithFish in festivals, faith, art and national symbols.13Venomous or dangerousFish with venom, toxins or a dangerous bite.8InvasiveFish spread outside their home range where they cause harm.4Science and researchModel organisms and fish famous in science.38

Food fish

Fish is one of the main foods of humanity. The Food and Agriculture Organization reckons that aquatic foods provide about 15 per cent of the animal protein people eat worldwide, and much more in coastal and island countries and in places such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and West Africa

Farmed

Fish farming, or aquaculture, raises fish in ponds, tanks, raceways and cages. It has grown fast since the 1980s while wild catches have levelled off, and in 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization reported, farms produced more aquatic animals than wild fisheries for the first time

Aquarium fish

Fishkeeping is one of the most popular pet hobbies in the world. Home aquariums hold freshwater fish such as guppies, tetras, barbs, gouramis, cichlids and catfish, and marine tanks keep clownfish, tangs and other reef fish

Sport fishing

Sport fishing, or recreational angling, is fishing for enjoyment rather than a living. Hundreds of millions of people fish this way, from children with a line in a pond to anglers who travel the world for marlin, tarpon or mahseer

Culture and faith

Fish swim through the art, faith and symbols of many peoples. They appear in myths of floods and creation, as signs of fertility and good fortune, as national and state emblems and at the centre of festivals and rites

Venomous or dangerous

A small number of fish can harm people. Some inject venom through spines, such as the stonefish, lionfish and stingrays

Invasive

An invasive fish is one that people have carried outside its natural range, for farming, sport, the aquarium trade, mosquito control or by accident, and that spreads and harms native wildlife or livelihoods. Not every introduced fish becomes invasive, and some, such as tilapia and carps, are valued as food in the same places where they cause damage

Science and research

Fish are important in science. Some species are model organisms, small, fast-breeding fish that are studied in depth in laboratories to understand biology in general, from how embryos grow to how genes cause disease

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.