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

Food fish

Caught and eaten around the world. 412 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

RohuIndia's most eaten carpPeruvian anchovetaThe largest single-species fishery

Still to be written: Atlantic cod, Ilish, Skipjack tuna, Alaska pollock, Indian mackerel, Atlantic herring.

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
WorldSpotted eagle ray Tropical ray with white spots and a long tail.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1790 WorldDevil fish A large Mediterranean ray with a spiny tail and horn-like flaps.Ray · Coasts and shelves WorldGiant oceanic manta ray The world's largest ray, a massive filter-feeding predator of tropical oceans.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1827 WorldLionfish Venomous marine fish of the genus Pterois known for striking stripes and invasive spread.Ray · Coral reefs · 1900 WorldGuitarfish A family of rays with a shark-like tail and flattened head found in warm waters worldwide.Ray · Coasts and shelves WorldSkate Cartilaginous fish with flat bodies and egg cases, found on sea floors worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves EuropeBlonde ray A short-tailed skate found in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.Ray · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBat ray A large eagle ray with wing-like fins found in the eastern Pacific.Ray · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreCownose ray A migratory coastal ray with a distinctive head shape.Ray · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreSpiny butterfly ray A large Atlantic ray with a tail spine, valued for food and now critically endangered in many areas.Ray · Estuaries and mangroves 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRound stingray A small coastal ray from the eastern Pacific known for its painful tail spine.Ray · Coasts and shelves WorldSmooth butterfly ray A diamond-shaped ray with a short tail and no sting.Ray · Coasts and shelves 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreReticulate whipray A large spotted stingray from the western Indian Ocean and eastern Mediterranean.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1789 WorldMangrove whipray A spotted stingray of Indo-Pacific mangroves and reefs.Ray · Estuaries and mangroves · 1883 WorldPink whipray Large Indo-Pacific stingray with a long tail and pinkish hue.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1906 WorldCowtail stingray Large Indo-Pacific stingray with a distinctive tail fold.Ray · Rivers and lakes Latin America and the CaribbeanMunk's pygmy devil ray Smallest devil ray in the eastern Pacific OceanRay · Coasts and shelves · 1987 WorldSawfish Large rays with a toothed rostrum found in tropical coastal waters.Ray · Coasts and shelves WorldBluespotted ribbontail ray A small, colourful reef stingray with electric blue spots.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1775 EuropeCommon stingray A venomous ray of Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal waters.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldBowmouth guitarfish A large, thorny ray with a W-shaped mouth found in the western Indo-Pacific.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1801 WorldGiant guitarfish A large coastal ray found in the western Indian Ocean and Red Sea, facing severe population declines.Ray · Coasts and shelves 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreMarbled electric ray A benthic electric ray from the eastern Atlantic known for its powerful shocks and mottled brown skin.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1810 EuropeThornback ray A spiny-skinned ray found in European coastal waters.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1758 🇨🇦 CanadaLittle skate Small Atlantic skate known for walking on the sea floor.Ray · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United StatesBig skate Largest skate in North American Pacific watersRay · Coasts and shelves · 1855

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.