Which Country Catches the Most Fish? Japan Led for 20 Years

Here are the questions people ask most, answered in order. Numbers are calculated from World Bank statistics (originally FAO, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization). Japanese statistics, research and news reports are kept apart from the data and carry sources.

• Who is first? China in 2024, and every year since 1995.
• And Japan? First from 1972 to 1991, 4th in 1995, 8th in 2024. Its peak was 11.6 million tonnes in 1984.
• Why did it fall? Japan’s distant-water fleet shrank, sardines collapsed, and its coastal environment changed, among other things.
• What about Peru? First in 1970 (12.5 million tonnes), then down 82% by 1973.
• And fish farming? These data cover wild catch only. FAO reports that in 2022 aquaculture overtook capture for the first time.

Who catches the most fish now? Top 10 (2024)

Top 10 countries by wild fish catch, 2024

Rank	Country	Catch (million tonnes)	Share of world	Rank in 1960
1	China	13.3	14.3%	4
2	Indonesia	7.8	8.5%	12
3	India	6.4	6.9%	6
4	Peru	5.8	6.2%	2
5	Russia	5.0	5.4%	–
6	United States	4.2	4.6%	3
7	Vietnam	3.4	3.7%	18
8	Japan	2.8	3.1%	1
9	Chile	2.5	2.7%	21
10	Norway	2.3	2.5%	5

Shares are of the 2024 total across the 193 countries with data (92.5 million tonnes). The 1960 rank is among the 159 countries with data that year.

How did first place change hands?

Countries with the largest catch, by year

Years	Largest catch
1960–1961	Japan
1962–1971	Peru
1972–1991	Japan
1992–1993	China
1994	Peru
1995–2024	China

First place went to Japan (1960–1961), Peru (1962–1971), Japan (1972–1991), China (1992–1993), Peru (1994), China (1995–2024). Japan was first in 1960–1961 and in 1972–1991, 22 years in all. In 1992, the year China first took the lead, China (8.4 million tonnes) edged past Japan (8.0 million tonnes).

Why did Japan’s catch fall?

Japan’s catch peaked at 11.6 million tonnes in 1984 and is 2.8 million tonnes in 2024, 75% below the peak. Its rank went from 1st at the peak to 4th in 1995 and 8th in 2024. The steepest fall came in four years, from 8.7 million tonnes in 1991 to 6.2 million tonnes in 1995.

Ranks are among countries with data in that year. The number of countries differs by year, so changes in rank are not strictly comparable.

The reasons given are these.

• A shrinking distant-water fleet. From the 1970s, countries declared 200-nautical-mile zones, and Japan’s ships lost fishing grounds abroad. Distant-water output fell from 3.99 million tonnes in 1973 to 0.25 million in 2021 (Keio University). Japan’s agriculture ministry also names this withdrawal as a reason for the steep fall of about 1988–1995 (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in Japanese).
• The collapse of sardines. Japan caught 4.49 million tonnes of sardines in 1988, but only 0.027 million in 2005 (Keio University).
• Changes along the coast. Reclamation since the high-growth era wiped out about 40% of seaweed beds and tidal flats, and the loss of nursery grounds for young fish is also cited (Keio University).
• Recent poor catches. In 2021, salmon (about 0.054 million tonnes), Pacific saury (0.018 million) and Japanese flying squid (0.025 million) were at or near record lows. The ministry points mainly to changing ocean conditions such as water temperature and currents (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries).

These data alone cannot say how much each factor mattered.

Why does Peru’s catch swing so much?

The line that swings hardest in the chart is Peru’s. In 1970 it caught 12.5 million tonnes, first in the world. By 1973 it was 2.3 million tonnes, 82% lower. The fish at the center is the anchoveta, a small anchovy.

The 1970 catch was a world record at the time. Scientists and the government had recommended a limit of about 9.5 million tonnes, but actual catches are said to have exceeded it by millions of tonnes. In 1972 an El Niño struck, the anchoveta vanished and the season ended at 4.4 million tonnes. El Niño was blamed at first, but later research found that overfishing had already weakened the stock. In May 1973 Peru nationalized the industry (Wikipedia).

Can China’s numbers be trusted?

China’s catch is the world’s largest in 2024 (13.3 million tonnes), but its peak was 16.6 million tonnes in 2015, and it is 20% lower now.

Research suggests caution with China’s figures. A 2014 study by Pauly and colleagues estimated China’s distant-water catch in 2000–2011 at about 4.6 million tonnes a year (range 3.4–6.1 million), against about 0.368 million tonnes a year reported to FAO. The study could not separate legal from illegal catch (study abstract).

What about fish farming?

These data cover wild fish caught at sea and in rivers and lakes. Fish farming is not included. According to FAO’s 2024 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, aquaculture overtook capture fisheries as the main source of aquatic animals for the first time in 2022. Total production, farming included, was 223.2 million tonnes (The Star report).

Wild catch has stalled worldwide: 93.0 million tonnes in 1995 and 92.5 million tonnes in 2024 (99%). Over those years, Indonesia (0.7 million tonnes to 7.8 million tonnes) and India (1.1 million tonnes to 6.4 million tonnes) grew most since 1960.

How to read these numbers

• The series is a World Bank indicator, originally from FAO: wild catch from seas, rivers and lakes, excluding fish farming, in tonnes.
• From 1960 to 1991 the data have no former Soviet states, so world totals and ranks are among countries with data. The country count rises from 1992, so world totals before and after are not directly comparable.
• Data: World Bank, updated 2026-10-08; retrieved by this site on November 5, 2026.

Summary

• In 2024, China catches the most wild fish (13.3 million tonnes) and has been first every year since 1995.
• Japan was first in 1972–1991. Its peak was 1984, and it is 8th in 2024 (75% below the peak), with a shrinking distant-water fleet, collapsed sardines and coastal change among the reasons given.
• Peru was first in 1970 and fell 82% by 1973.
• Wild catch has been flat since 1995. In 2022 aquaculture overtook capture for the first time.