Farmed
Raised in ponds, cages and tanks. 20 fish on EveryFish so far.
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. Asia produces most farmed fish, with China far ahead and India second. Carps, tilapias, catfishes, salmon and milkfish are the main species.
Carps, tilapia and salmon
Freshwater carps raised in ponds are the most farmed fish by weight, led by grass carp and silver carp in China and the Indian major carps in India and Bangladesh. Andhra Pradesh is India's leading fish-farming state, sending rohu, catla and pangas across the country. Nile tilapia is farmed in more than a hundred countries. Atlantic salmon, raised in sea cages in Norway, Chile and Scotland, is one of the most valuable farmed fish. The pangasius catfish of Vietnam is exported worldwide.
Benefits and concerns
Farming can supply cheap protein and jobs and take pressure off wild stocks. But farms can pollute water with waste and drugs, spread disease and sea lice to wild fish, and let farmed fish escape and breed with wild ones. Some farmed fish, especially salmon and shrimp, are fed fish meal and oil made from wild fish. Clearing mangroves for shrimp farms has been a serious problem in Asia. Better feeds, rules on siting and certification schemes aim to address these concerns.
Famous farmed fish
Still to be written: Grass carp, Silver carp, Catla, Atlantic salmon, Iridescent shark.
Further reading
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreNile tilapia
A hardy cichlid farmed globally for food.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreRohu
A large silver carp from South Asian rivers, farmed for food and prized as a game fish.Carp · Rivers and lakes
WorldNile perch
Large freshwater predator native to Africa, now invasive in many lakes.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreAfrican sharptooth catfish
Large airbreathing catfish farmed across Africa and AsiaCatfish · Rivers and lakes
🇵🇭 Philippines and 4 moreMilkfish
The sole living species of the family Chanidae, found across the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇷🇺 RussiaSterlet
A small Eurasian sturgeon found in rivers flowing to the Black, Azov, and Caspian seas.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇺🇸 United StatesShovelnose sturgeon
Smallest North American freshwater sturgeon, known for its shovel-shaped snout and caviar production.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1820
🇺🇬 Uganda and 2 moreSilver cyprinid
A small pelagic fish from Lake Victoria that supports regional food security.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇬 UgandaNangnang fish
A small freshwater fish from the Nile basin, prized as a fried snack in Uganda.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreTambaqui
A large freshwater fish from South America known for its heavy body and seed-eating habits.Other · Rivers and lakes
WorldSnakehead
Elongated freshwater predators with air-breathing organs found in Asia and Africa.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreArapaima
Large freshwater fish from the Amazon basin known for its size and air-breathing ability.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreSiberian sturgeon
Large freshwater sturgeon native to Siberian riversAncient · Rivers and lakes
Southeast AsiaGiant snakehead
A large freshwater predator from Southeast Asia known for air breathing and invasive potential.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMandarin fish
Freshwater predatory perch native to East AsiaPerch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1855
🇦🇴 Angola and 3 moreMarbled lungfish
African lungfish with the largest known animal genome, found in East and Central Africa.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreArapaima
Giant air-breathing freshwater fish of the AmazonOther · Rivers and lakes · 1822
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreAsian swamp eel
A freshwater, air-breathing fish native to Asia and introduced elsewhere.Eel · Rivers and lakes
🇯🇵 JapanNigorobuna
Wild carp from Lake Biwa used for fermented sushi.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇦🇷 Argentina and 4 moreArgentinian silverside
A large, adaptable silverside native to South America.Other · Rivers and lakes
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Nile tilapia: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rohu: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Nile perch: Pavel Zuber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- African sharptooth catfish: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Milkfish: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Sterlet: Karelj, Public domain, source
- Shovelnose sturgeon: Kbh3rd, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Silver cyprinid: Boulenger, George Albert; Loat, L., Public domain, source
- Nangnang fish: Africalli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tambaqui: w_endo, CC0, source
- Snakehead: Sir Francis Day, Public domain, source
- Arapaima: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / C, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Siberian sturgeon: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / C, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Giant snakehead: George Chernilevsky, Public domain, source
- Mandarin fish: Andshel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marbled lungfish: George Berninger Jr., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arapaima: George Chernilevsky, Public domain, source
- Asian swamp eel: Leo G. Nico, USGS, Gainesville, FL, Public domain, source
- Nigorobuna: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Argentinian silverside: CHUCAO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source