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
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreEuropean whitefish A widespread freshwater salmonid with a tapered body and silvery flanks.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSockeye salmon Anadromous Pacific salmon known for red spawning colour and zooplankton diet.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1792 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMasu salmon Pacific salmonid native to East Asian coasts and rivers.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesCutthroat trout A group of Pacific trout native to western North America, known for red throat markings.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1793 🇺🇸 United StatesApache trout A golden-spotted trout native to Arizona highlands.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesCisco Small salmonid fish of northern lakes and seasSalmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreBaikal black grayling A Siberian freshwater salmonid found in Lake Baikal and surrounding river systems.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreKokanee salmon A landlocked freshwater form of the sockeye salmon found in North America and Japan.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 RussiaInconnu A large anadromous whitefish native to the Caspian Sea basin.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 RussiaOmul A whitefish species endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇲🇰 North Macedonia and 1 moreOhrid trout An endemic trout species found in Lake Ohrid and the Black Drin river.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇮🇹 ItalyCarpione Endangered salmonid fish native to Lake Garda in Italy.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇲 ArmeniaSevan trout Extinct endemic salmonid of Lake Sevan in ArmeniaSalmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreSea trout Anadromous form of brown trout that migrates between sea and rivers.Salmonid · Between sea and river 🇯🇵 JapanBiwa trout Salmonid fish endemic to Lake Biwa in JapanSalmonid · Rivers and lakes · 2025 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreOncorhynchus A genus of migratory fish native to the North Pacific basin.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBrook trout A colorful freshwater char native to eastern North America, known for its spotted pattern and status as a popular game fSalmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1814 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreLake trout Large freshwater char of northern lakesSalmonid · Rivers and lakes WorldBrown trout A widespread salmonid with river, lake and sea forms.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreDolly Varden trout A cold-water char native to the North Pacific rim.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1792 🇺🇸 United StatesLahontan cutthroat trout Large native trout of the Lahontan Basin in Nevada and surrounding states.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesCalifornia golden trout Native high-elevation trout of the Sierra NevadaSalmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1892 🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreMarble trout Adriatic freshwater salmonid with marbled skinSalmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇹 Austria and 4 moreHuchen A large freshwater salmonid native to the Danube basin in Central and Eastern Europe.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreSiberian taimen The world's largest salmonid, found in Eurasian rivers.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreSakhalin taimen Large, ancient salmonid of Northeast AsiaSalmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreGrayling A cold-water salmonid fish native to European rivers, prized by anglers for its distinctive dorsal fin.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreArctic grayling A cold-water salmon relative with a large, colourful dorsal fin.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1776 🇫🇮 Finland and 4 moreVendace Small freshwater whitefish of northern EuropeSalmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreLake whitefish A cool-water freshwater fish from North America.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreChum salmon A Pacific salmon species known for its large size and wide distribution across the North Pacific.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1836 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreCoho salmon Anadromous Pacific salmon known for silver ocean phase and red spawning colours.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes North AmericaRainbow trout A cold-water trout native to the Pacific basin with a distinctive red stripe.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1792 🇳🇴 Norway and 4 moreAtlantic salmon A large anadromous fish found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and its rivers.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreChinook salmon The largest Pacific salmon species, prized for size and food value.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSteelhead Anadromous form of the rainbow trout that migrates between ocean and freshwater.Salmonid · Between sea and river WorldArctic char Cold-water salmonid native to Arctic and alpine waters.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United StatesCoastal cutthroat trout A Pacific trout with red throat marksSalmonid · Rivers and lakes

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.