Food fish
Caught and eaten around the world. 448 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
Still to be written: Atlantic cod, Ilish, Skipjack tuna, Alaska pollock, Indian mackerel, Atlantic herring.
Further reading
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreCommon dentex
Large-toothed seabream of the Atlantic and Mediterranean.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1758
WorldPotato grouper
Large Indo-Pacific reef grouper with dark blotches.Perch-like · Coral reefs · 1959
🇦🇺 Australia and 4 moreLeopard coral grouper
A spotted reef predator prized for food across the Pacific.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1802
Southeast AsiaHumpback grouper
A spotted marine fish with a distinctive humped head profile.Perch-like · Coral reefs · 1828
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBlack crappie
A spotted freshwater sunfish native to North America, prized by anglers for its sport and table fare.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1856
North AmericaNassau grouper
A large reef fish critical to Caribbean fisheries now facing extinction risks.Perch-like · Coral reefs
OceaniaBanded archerfish
A silvery fish that spits water jets to catch prey.Perch-like · Estuaries and mangroves · 1767
WorldBluefin trevally
Large tropical marine predator with electric blue finsPerch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1833
WorldEmperor red snapper
Large Indo-Pacific reef snapper with distinctive juvenile bands.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1816
WorldBluestripe snapper
Bright yellow reef fish with four blue stripesPerch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1775
WorldPompano
Deep-bodied marine fish in the genus Trachinotus.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreMutton snapper
A colourful Atlantic reef fish prized for its meat.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1828
WorldRed porgy
A pink-hued seabream found in warm Atlantic coastal waters.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1758
WorldDusky grouper
Large reef-dwelling fish found in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1834
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreRed seabream
A prized marine fish of the Western Pacific with deep cultural roots in Japan.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1843
WorldGreasy grouper
Indo-Pacific reef fish with slow growth and high commercial valuePerch-like · Coasts and shelves
WorldGolden snapper
A large Indo-Pacific snapper with distinctive rusty scale spots.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1792
WorldSpangled emperor
A large, colourful reef fish found across the Indo-West Pacific.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1775
WorldMalabar blood snapper
A red reef snapper from the Indo-Pacific.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1801
WorldMalabar grouper
Large Indo-Pacific reef fish with dark spotsPerch-like · Coasts and shelves
WorldMangrove red snapper
Large Indo-Pacific snapper found in mangroves and reefsPerch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1775
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Rohu: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Common dentex: michael_bommerer, CC BY 4.0, source
- Potato grouper: Richard Ling, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Leopard coral grouper: portioid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Humpback grouper: Arpingstone, Public domain, source
- Black crappie: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain, source
- Nassau grouper: q phia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Banded archerfish: Chrumps, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bluefin trevally: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Emperor red snapper: This photo has been taken by Matthieu Sontag (User:Mirgolth) and relea, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bluestripe snapper: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pompano: H. L. Todd, Public domain, source
- Mutton snapper: Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0, source
- Red porgy: Julien Renoult, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dusky grouper: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Red seabream: Miya, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Greasy grouper: Jerome Huet (IFREMER, Délégation océan Indien (DOI), Département Resso, CC BY 4.0, source
- Peruvian anchoveta: Robbie N. Cada ., CC BY 3.0, source
- Golden snapper: George Henry Ford, Public domain, source
- Spangled emperor: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Malabar blood snapper: Ralf Roletschek, CC BY 3.0, source
- Malabar grouper: Amada44, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mangrove red snapper: Jean-Lou Justine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source