Food fish
Caught and eaten around the world. 81 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, Peruvian anchoveta, Indian mackerel, Atlantic herring.
Further reading
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreNile tilapia
A hardy cichlid farmed globally for food.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1758
WorldNile perch
Large freshwater predator native to Africa, now invasive in many lakes.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreAfrican sharptooth catfish
Large airbreathing catfish farmed across Africa and AsiaCatfish · Rivers and lakes
🇵🇭 Philippines and 4 moreMilkfish
The sole living species of the family Chanidae, found across the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreAtlantic sturgeon
A large anadromous fish native to the western Atlantic Ocean and its river systems.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreShortnose sturgeon
A small, endangered North American sturgeon with a short snout.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1818
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreKaluga
A massive semi-anadromous sturgeon from the Amur River basin hunted for caviar.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1872
🇺🇸 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreTropical gar
A small freshwater predator from Central America known for its armored scales and air-breathing ability.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGar
Ancient armored fish with lung-like swim bladders found in North American waters.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇧🇯 Benin and 4 moreSaddled bichir
A large African freshwater fish with primitive lungs and multiple dorsal finlets.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1845
🇨🇺 CubaCuban gar
Large tropical freshwater predator native to western Cuba.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇷🇺 RussiaCaspian roach
A brackish water fish from the Caspian Sea region, widely consumed as a dried snack.Carp · Estuaries and mangroves
WorldFeatherbacks and knifefishes
Freshwater bony-tongued fishes with long anal finsOther · Rivers and lakes
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paddlefish
A giant freshwater predator from China that is now extinct.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1862
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreBurbot
A coldwater freshwater fish with a chin whisker, native to the Northern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreRuffe
A small, aggressive freshwater fish native to Eurasia that has become a major invasive pest in North America.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇦🇷 Argentina and 4 moreArgentinian silverside
A large, adaptable silverside native to South America.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreMosquitofish
Small North American fish introduced globally for mosquito control.Livebearer · Rivers and lakes
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 morePeacock eel
A small freshwater spiny eel from Southeast Asia.Eel · Rivers and lakes
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Nile tilapia: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rohu: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Nile perch: Pavel Zuber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- African sharptooth catfish: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Milkfish: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Atlantic sturgeon: Jiaqian AirplaneFan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shortnose sturgeon: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kaluga: あおもりくま（Aomorikuma）, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Longnose gar: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain, source
- Tropical gar: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saddled bichir: Studdart, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cuban gar: Poleta33, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caspian roach: Brücke-Osteuropa, Public domain, source
- Featherbacks and knifefishes: Henry Sullivan Thomas, Public domain, source
- Chinese paddlefish: Muséum d'histoire Naturelle, Public domain, source
- Burbot: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ruffe: Tiit Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Argentinian silverside: CHUCAO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mosquitofish: NOZO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Peacock eel: Unknown author, Public domain, source