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. 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
WorldBlacktip shark A coastal requiem shark known for spinning leaps and black-tipped fins.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreEstuarine stonefish A venomous marine ray-finned fish found in the Indo-Pacific region.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1766 WorldCopper shark Temperate requiem shark with bronze skin and hooked teethShark · Coasts and shelves · 1870 WorldPelagic thresher The smallest thresher shark, found in tropical oceans and known for its whip-like tail.Shark · Open ocean · 1935 WorldWhitetip reef shark Small Indo-Pacific reef shark with white-tipped finsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1837 WorldSalmon shark A warm-blooded mackerel shark of the northern PacificShark · Coasts and shelves WorldMilk shark A small coastal requiem shark found in tropical waters worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1837 WorldCommon thresher The largest thresher shark, known for its whip-like tail used to stun prey in cool coastal and open waters.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1788 WorldPorbeagle A fast, cold-water mackerel shark found in the Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1788 WorldGiant sunfish The heaviest bony fish in the world, found in warm oceans.Shark · Open ocean · 1842 WorldBasking shark The second-largest living fish, a slow-moving filter feeder found in temperate oceans worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1765 WorldSilky shark A fast, migratory requiem shark found in tropical oceans worldwide.Shark · Open ocean · 1839 WorldSchool shark A temperate houndshark valued for liver oil and meat.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldSkate Cartilaginous fish with flat bodies and egg cases, found on sea floors worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇦🇺 Australia and 2 moreWobbegong Camouflaged bottom-dwelling sharks found in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldHammerhead shark Sharks with T-shaped heads for better vision and sensing prey.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldCommon guitarfish A critically endangered cartilaginous fish native to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldAngelshark Flat-bodied sharks that bury themselves in sandy seabeds to ambush prey.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldBroadnose sevengill shark A large coastal shark with seven gill slits and spotted skin.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 3 morePacific angelshark A flat-bodied ambush shark of the eastern Pacific coast.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1859 WorldSpinner shark A fast requiem shark known for spinning leaps out of water.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreCaribbean reef shark Large requiem shark of western Atlantic coral reefsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1876 WorldPigeye shark A robust coastal requiem shark often confused with the bull shark.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839 WorldKitefin shark A deep-sea squaliform shark known for its bioluminescence and large oil-filled liver.Shark · Deep sea · 1788 🇦🇺 AustraliaLongnose sawshark A slender Australian shark with a long, toothed snout.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreWhitespotted bamboo shark A small, bottom-dwelling carpet shark with purple and pink spots, common in Asian coral reefs.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldBrownbanded bamboo shark Small, docile reef shark suited for captivityShark · Coral reefs 🇦🇺 AustraliaGummy shark A bottom-dwelling shark from southern Australia known for its crushing teeth and commercial fillets.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreLeopard shark A coastal Pacific houndshark with black saddle markings and spots.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1854 WorldGreenland shark A large, slow-moving sleeper shark with the longest lifespan of any vertebrate.Shark · Deep sea WorldSpiny dogfish A temperate shark with dorsal spines and a long lifespan, heavily fished for food.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldSmall-spotted catshark A common shallow-water shark found across the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorn shark Small spotted bullhead shark from the eastern Pacific coast.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1855 🇦🇺 AustraliaSpotted wobbegong A camouflaged carpet shark native to Australian coastal waters.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1778 WorldBigeye thresher Deep-diving shark with huge eyes and a long tail.Shark · Open ocean · 1840 WorldGalapagos shark Large requiem shark of tropical oceanic islandsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1905 WorldGreat hammerhead The largest hammerhead shark, known for its wide cephalofoil and critically endangered status.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1837 WorldLongfin mako shark A rare, deep-water mackerel shark with long pectoral finsShark · Open ocean · 1966 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreBonnethead A small hammerhead shark with a spade-shaped head and omnivorous diet.Shark · Coasts and shelves South AsiaWinghead shark A small hammerhead with an exceptionally wide cephalofoil.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1822 WorldSmooth hammerhead Temperate hammerhead shark with a curved head marginShark · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldBlacktip reef shark Small coral reef shark with distinct black fin tipsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1824 WorldBlue shark A slender, deep-blue oceanic shark found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide.Shark · Open ocean 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreNurse shark A bottom-dwelling shark found in tropical coastal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇮🇳 IndiaPondicherry shark A rare, small grey requiem shark from Indo-Pacific coasts.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSpadenose shark Small coastal shark with a flat snout and advanced placenta.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1838 WorldScalloped hammerhead A coastal shark with a distinctive indented head.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1834 WorldShortfin mako shark Fastest known shark species, reaching speeds of 74 km/h.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1809
More fish

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.