News
RiversEl Niño seen disrupting fish migration patternsSpeciesScientists 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-NicolaRiversEl Niño seen disrupting fish migration patternsSpeciesScientists 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-Nicola
EveryFish

Food fish

Caught and eaten around the world. 688 fish on EveryFish so far.

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. Thousands of fish species are eaten, but a few dozen, such as anchovies, pollock, tunas, herrings, carps and tilapia, make up most of the catch.

Fish in Indian kitchens

Most Indians eat fish at least sometimes, and in Bengal, Odisha, Assam, the North-East, Kerala, Goa and the Konkan, fish is at the centre of everyday meals. Bengalis prize rohu and hilsa cooked in mustard. Kerala cooks sardine, mackerel and pearlspot with coconut and kokum. Goans eat fish curry and rice daily, and Mumbai's Kolis fry bombil and pomfret. Dried and fermented fish are basic foods in the North-East and along the coasts.

From catch to plate

Fish spoils quickly, so ice, cold chains, canning, freezing, drying, salting and smoking shape how it reaches people. A large share of the world's catch of small fish such as anchovies is turned into fish meal and oil for farmed fish and animals rather than eaten directly. Large predatory fish such as some tunas and swordfish can build up mercury, so health agencies give advice on how often to eat them. EveryFish describes these uses as practice and tradition, not health advice.

Famous food fish fish

Atlantic codThe fish of fish and chips and bacalhauIlishThe hilsa of Bengali cookingRohuIndia's most eaten carpSkipjack tunaMost of the world's canned tunaAlaska pollockFish fingers, fillets and surimiPeruvian anchovetaThe largest single-species fisheryIndian mackerelAn everyday fish of India's coastsAtlantic herringPickled, smoked and salted in northern Europe

Further reading

GroupSharkRayCarpCatfishSalmonidHerringCodTunaPerch-likeCichlidReef fishEelFlatfishLivebearerAncientOther
WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
🇹🇿 Tanzania and 2 moreSingida tilapia A cichlid fish native to the Lake Victoria basin in East Africa.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreNile tilapia A hardy cichlid farmed globally for food.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇭🇳 Honduras and 3 moreJaguar cichlid Large predatory cichlid from Central American lakesCichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 morePeacock bass Large predatory cichlids from South American rivers known for sport fishing and invasive impact.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇮 Burundi and 3 moreGiant cichlid The largest living cichlid species, native to Lake Tanganyika in Africa.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1899 Karonga tilapia 🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreKaronga tilapia Endangered cichlid from Lake Malawi and the Shire River.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes WorldCichlid Diverse freshwater fish family known for parental care and rapid evolution.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1835 🇨🇷 Costa Rica and 1 moreMidas cichlid Large aggressive cichlid from Central AmericaCichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreTexas cichlid The only cichlid native to the United StatesCichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreMayan cichlid A hardy cichlid from Mesoamerica with a distinctive tail spot.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes WorldUaru A large South American cichlid from clear Amazon streams.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1840 Sub-Saharan AfricaJewel cichlid Brightly colored African cichlids kept in aquariums for their vivid breeding colours and parental care.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes WorldMango tilapia A large cichlid native to Africa and the Levant.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreBlue tilapia Hardy cichlid native to Africa and the Middle EastCichlid · Rivers and lakes Middle EastRedbelly tilapia A hardy cichlid from Africa and the Middle East.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreOscar Large South American cichlid popular in aquariumsCichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1831 🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreSpeckled peacock bass A large South American cichlid prized for sport and food.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreButterfly peacock bass Large South American cichlid prized for sport fishingCichlid · Rivers and lakes Livingston's cichlid Sub-Saharan AfricaLivingston's cichlid A predatory cichlid from Lake Malawi that feigns death to hunt.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes Sub-Saharan AfricaRedbreast tilapia Herbivorous cichlid from southern African freshwatersCichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1897 Sub-Saharan AfricaVictoria tilapia A cichlid native to Lake Victoria with unique colour patterns.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreMozambique tilapia A hardy cichlid from southeastern Africa, now farmed globally and listed as a major invasive species.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes WorldTilapia Common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish native to Africa and the Middle East.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1840 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreGreen chromide A brackish water cichlid native to India and Sri Lanka.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1790

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

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