Food fish
Caught and eaten around the world. 83 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
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreSea lamprey
A jawless, parasitic fish native to the Northern Hemisphere that attacks other fish.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇵🇭 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
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGar
Ancient armored fish with lung-like swim bladders found in North American waters.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758
WorldLamprey
Jawless fish with a sucking mouth found in temperate waters worldwide.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 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
WorldGiant oceanic manta ray
The world's largest ray, a massive filter-feeding predator of tropical oceans.Ray · Coasts and shelves · 1827
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreSiberian sturgeon
Large freshwater sturgeon native to Siberian riversAncient · Rivers and lakes
WorldBasking shark
The second-largest living fish, a slow-moving filter feeder found in temperate oceans worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1765
🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePacific lamprey
An anadromous parasitic jawless fish found along the Pacific Rim.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1872
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreAlewife
A small North American herring that migrates between sea and rivers.Herring · Coasts and shelves
WorldAnglerfish
Ray-finned fish using a modified dorsal fin ray as a lure to catch prey.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1829
🇦🇷 Argentina and 4 moreArgentinian silverside
A large, adaptable silverside native to South America.Other · Rivers and lakes
OceaniaBanded archerfish
A silvery fish that spits water jets to catch prey.Perch-like · Estuaries and mangroves · 1767
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sea lamprey: Fernando Losada Rodríguez, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rohu: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Milkfish: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Atlantic sturgeon: Jiaqian AirplaneFan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shortnose sturgeon: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Gar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Lamprey: Tiit Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black crappie: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain, source
- Giant oceanic manta ray: jon hanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Siberian sturgeon: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / C, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Basking shark: Greg Skomal / NOAA Fisheries Service, Public domain, source
- Pacific lamprey: Dave Herasimtschuk, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
- Alewife: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anglerfish: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Argentinian silverside: CHUCAO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Banded archerfish: Chrumps, CC BY-SA 3.0, source