Global Aquaculture Tops 100 Million Tonnes for First Time, FAO Report Finds

Global farmed seafood production crossed the 100 million tonne mark for the first time in 2024, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's biennial State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2026 report. The report was launched at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, and presents updated global fisheries and aquaculture statistics.

Aquaculture aquatic animal production reached 103 million tonnes in 2024, with aquaculture now providing 53% of total aquatic animal production and over 59% of aquatic animal food output, according to the report. Including algae, total aquaculture production stood at 141 million tonnes, valued at 391 billion dollars.

The FAO report notes that aquatic animal production has continued to grow, averaging 3.2% annually since the 1950s, while wild fisheries have largely stabilised. Capture fisheries production remained broadly stable at 92 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2024, continuing a pattern of fluctuation between 86 million tonnes and 94 million tonnes since the late 1980s. Inland fisheries reached a record 12.3 million tonnes, a figure the FAO said was driven partly by better data collection and reporting.

Asia continues to dominate the sector, producing around 89% of all farmed aquatic animals and 92% of total aquaculture products. Around 7.8 million MT, or 97.7% of the increase over 2022 totals, was recorded in Asia, with smaller gains in Latin America and the Caribbean (125,000 MT, 1.6%), sub-Saharan Africa (104,800 MT, 1.3%), and Northern Africa (47,800 MT, 0.6%). The report notes that 47 countries now produce more through aquaculture than through capture fisheries.

On the trade side, aquatic animal trade reached 184 billion dollars, with over one-third of production traded internationally. Between 1976 and 2024, export value rose more than twenty-threefold, nearly sixfold in real terms, according to the report.

The SOFIA 2026 report highlights the sector's food security significance. Global availability of aquatic animal foods amounted to 171 million MT in 2023, with per capita availability increasing from 9.2 kilograms per year in 1961 to 21.1 kilograms per year in 2023. Aquatic animal foods contributed 15% of global animal protein availability and at least 20% of animal protein availability for more than 40% of the world's population in 2023, the report states.

In 2024, an estimated 65 million people were employed in the primary fisheries and aquaculture sector, excluding subsistence activities, with aquaculture accounting for 35% of those workers. The wider fisheries and aquaculture sector supports more than 600 million livelihoods when subsistence and secondary sector workers and their dependents are included, according to FAO.

The report also flags sustainability concerns. The share of the world's marine fishery stocks fished within biologically sustainable levels declined to 62.4% in 2023, down from 64.5% in 2021. However, the FAO notes that when considered by volume, 72.6% of landings from assessed stocks monitored by FAO were estimated to come from sustainably fished stocks. The report also states that per capita aquatic animal food supply in Africa lags well below the global average.

Looking ahead, FAO expects aquatic animal production to reach 214 million tonnes by 2034, with aquaculture projected to rise to 119 million tonnes and capture fisheries to around 95 million tonnes. Aquaculture is expected to account for 62% of aquatic animal food availability by 2034. The report cautions that under high emissions scenarios, exploitable fish biomass is projected to decline by over 10% by 2050 in several regions.