News
OceanSouth Korea’s Celebrity Shark Raises Bigger Questions About Climate Change And Ocean ConservationIndiaFrom pickles to fish farming: 3 farmers show how innovation can transform agricultureRiversEl 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 ConservationFisheriesPrince William Sound reports lowest pink salmon harvest since the late 1970sOceanSouth Korea’s Celebrity Shark Raises Bigger Questions About Climate Change And Ocean ConservationIndiaFrom pickles to fish farming: 3 farmers show how innovation can transform agricultureRiversEl 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 ConservationFisheriesPrince William Sound reports lowest pink salmon harvest since the late 1970s
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
🇳🇬 NigeriaHingemouth Small African fish with a unique proboscis-like mouthOther · Rivers and lakes 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreFreshwater garfish A slender, toothed needlefish from Asian fresh waters.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldTank goby Large subtropical goby found in fresh and salt waterOther · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesAtlantic tarpon Large, acrobatic saltwater game fish of the Atlantic.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1847 🇮🇳 India and 4 moreStriped snakehead A large freshwater food fish native to South and Southeast Asia.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreClown featherback Large tropical freshwater fish with a knife-shaped body and spotted pattern.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreBronze featherback A freshwater fish from South and Southeast Asia used for food.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇵🇰 PakistanElongate glassy perchlet Small translucent fish from South Asian watersOther · Rivers and lakes 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreBullseye snakehead Large air-breathing fish native to South Asia.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreGourami A family of freshwater labyrinth fish native to Asia, known for their air-breathing organ and varied parental care.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1832 WorldPike Freshwater predatory fish genus with sharp teeth and torpedo shape.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇺 AustraliaSilver Perch A threatened freshwater grunter endemic to the Murray-Darling basin in Australia.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇺 AustraliaSouthern saratoga A primitive freshwater fish native to Queensland rivers.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇳🇿 New ZealandGiant kōkopu New Zealand's largest freshwater fish, known for its amphidromous life cycle and traditional food value.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1789 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 3 moreCommon galaxias A small migratory fish of the Southern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇳🇿 New ZealandBanded kōkopu A striped New Zealand galaxiid that climbs waterfalls.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇳🇿 New ZealandNew Zealand grayling Extinct amphidromous fish endemic to New Zealand rivers and seas.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldNile perch Large freshwater predator native to Africa, now invasive in many lakes.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreAyu sweetfish Small amphidromous fish prized for its sweet flesh in East Asia.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1846 Indian threadfin 🇵🇰 Pakistan and 2 moreIndian threadfin A large coastal fish with distinctive long fin filaments.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1804 WorldSpotted scat A spotted, square-bodied fish from Indo-Pacific estuaries.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇮🇳 IndiaZebra loach A small, striped freshwater fish from India's Western Ghats, kept in aquariums and eaten locally.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1920 WorldWeather loach Small freshwater fish active before stormsOther · Rivers and lakes Southeast AsiaKissing gourami A Southeast Asian freshwater fish known for its unique mouth-to-mouth sparring behaviour.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreGolden dorado A large predatory freshwater fish native to South America known for its golden colour.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLongnose gar A primitive ray-finned fish with a long snout and armored scales found in North America.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGar Ancient armored fish with lung-like swim bladders found in North American waters.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇧🇼 Botswana and 1 moreAfrican tigerfish Predatory freshwater fish known for sharp teeth and leaping hunting behaviour.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1861 🇺🇬 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 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreLargemouth bass A large freshwater predator native to North America, prized by anglers and invasive in many regions.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1802 🇺🇸 United StatesSpotted bass A North American freshwater fish known for dark spots below its lateral line.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesGuadalupe bass A rare Texas endemic black bass prized by anglers for its fighting spirit.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇸🇷 Suriname and 2 moreRedeye piranha A large freshwater fish from South America with a rhombus-shaped body and red eyes.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreTambaqui A large freshwater fish from South America known for its heavy body and seed-eating habits.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesWhite sucker A common North American freshwater cypriniform fish with fleshy lips used for bottom feeding.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1803 🇦🇺 AustraliaAustralian bass Native freshwater game fish of eastern AustraliaOther · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇴 Angola and 3 moreAtlantic mudskipper Semi-aquatic goby that walks on mudflats in West Africa.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast and 4 moreAfrican pike characin West African freshwater predator with a pike-like shapeOther · Rivers and lakes · 1794 🇨🇺 CubaCuban gar Large tropical freshwater predator native to western Cuba.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 BrazilBanded leporinus A striped freshwater fish from the Amazon kept in home tanks and occasionally caught by anglers.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldSnakehead Elongated freshwater predators with air-breathing organs found in Asia and Africa.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldFeatherbacks and knifefishes Freshwater bony-tongued fishes with long anal finsOther · Rivers and lakes Southeast AsiaGiant snakehead A large freshwater predator from Southeast Asia known for air breathing and invasive potential.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreHoplias aimara A large freshwater predator from South America known for its size and mercury accumulation.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1846 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreGoldeye A silver freshwater fish known for its smoked culinary form.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreBurbot A coldwater freshwater fish with a chin whisker, native to the Northern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreArapaima Giant air-breathing freshwater fish of the AmazonOther · Rivers and lakes · 1822
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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.