Atlantic herring production over time (1950–2024)

Follow atlantic herring production for the world’s countries, year by year, from 1950 to 2024.

Japan and the leading countries

Atlantic herring production: Japan and the top 5 countries in 2024From 1950 to 2024. Last values: Norway 397K t, Iceland 135K t, United Kingdom 118K t, Denmark 96.4K t, Netherlands 92.8K t, Japan 1 t.0500K1M1.5M19501960197019801990200020102024NorwayNorwayIcelandIcelandUnited KingdomUnited KingdomDenmarkDenmarkNetherlandsNetherlandsJapanJapan
Key years for Japan and the leading countries in 2024
Country195019601970198019902000201020202024
Norway890K t689K t285K t17.3K t208K t800K t924K t527K t397K t
Iceland58.3K t137K t51.4K t53.3K t90.3K t288K t254K t134K t135K t
United Kingdom181K t111K t146K t5.57K t110K t82.7K t66.9K t76.6K t118K t
Denmark90.9K t202K t254K t61.9K t136K t154K t77.4K t126K t96.4K t
Netherlands112K t110K t58.4K t2.8K t82.8K t75.2K t55.8K t79.3K t92.8K t
Japan–––––––––
Countries with data141516151719191918

Biggest changes, 1950–2024

Compared among the countries that have data in both 1950 and 2024, ranked by how much the amount grew or shrank (the difference in quantity, not a percentage).

Biggest increases
Country19502024ChangeRank
Iceland58.3K t135K tup 76.5K t#10 → #2
Finland14.3K t54.1K tup 39.8K t#12 → #9
Denmark90.9K t96.4K tup 5.46K t#7 → #4
Ireland3.4K t6.02K tup 2.62K t#14 → #16
Biggest decreases
Country19502024ChangeRank
Norway890K t397K tdown 493K t#1 → #1
Germany221K t60.5K tdown 160K t#2 → #7
United States89.1K t9.83K tdown 79.3K t#8 → #15
Canada131K t57.9K tdown 72.6K t#4 → #8
United Kingdom181K t118K tdown 63.1K t#3 → #3

The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable.

All countries in key years

Open the table (countries with data)
Key years for Japan and the leading countries in 2024
Country195019601970198019902000201020202024
Norway890K t689K t285K t17.3K t208K t800K t924K t527K t397K t
Iceland58.3K t137K t51.4K t53.3K t90.3K t288K t254K t134K t135K t
United Kingdom181K t111K t146K t5.57K t110K t82.7K t66.9K t76.6K t118K t
Denmark90.9K t202K t254K t61.9K t136K t154K t77.4K t126K t96.4K t
Netherlands112K t110K t58.4K t2.8K t82.8K t75.2K t55.8K t79.3K t92.8K t
Russia–––––174K t209K t101K t84.6K t
Germany221K t234K t249K t69.3K t99.8K t47K t37K t35.2K t60.5K t
Canada131K t110K t478K t177K t260K t203K t150K t81.5K t57.9K t
Finland14.3K t35.8K t51.9K t75.6K t67.3K t81.6K t92.8K t93.4K t54.1K t
Sweden91.9K t149K t174K t136K t159K t174K t71.1K t85.2K t48.8K t
France61.4K t36.2K t24.4K t6.13K t21.4K t25.4K t4.42K t19.9K t28.2K t
Latvia–––––26.8K t21.4K t27K t25.3K t
Estonia–––––41.7K t28.9K t28.6K t20.1K t
Poland30K t94.7K t128K t68.6K t60.9K t24.5K t24.9K t39.4K t15K t
United States89.1K t70.4K t30.3K t83.5K t51.3K t72K t66.3K t9.45K t9.83K t
Ireland3.4K t21.2K t42.7K t36.9K t52.7K t42.1K t26.7K t6.28K t6.02K t
Lithuania–––––1.2K t2.04K t12.7K t1.06K t
Belgium10.4K t3.6K t800 t2.57K t179 t1 t1 t116 t14 t
Bulgaria––348 t–561 t––––
Côte d’Ivoire–––––––86.6 t–
Cuba–––7 t369 t––––
Spain–––––232 t88 t––
Japan–––––––––
Malta–––––––––
Mexico–––––––––
Portugal––––2 t––––
Romania–400 t685 t––––––
Ukraine–––––––––
Countries with data141516151719191918

Notes on reading this history

Yearly values come from the same statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FishStat). The number of countries with data differs by year, so each year’s ranks are given only among the countries that have data that year. Countries that produce none (zero) are not ranked. Weather and harvests make the yearly values go up and down. The “latest value” on the ranking page uses each country’s latest year, so it does not always match the ranks for a single year.

The weight is wild catch and farmed production added together, counted as live weight: the whole animal as it was caught or harvested, before it is gutted, shelled or processed. It is more than the weight of the food you buy.

Regions that later split into several countries, such as the former Soviet Union, have a value for each new country only from the year it split. So older years have fewer countries with data, and values from before a split cannot be compared country by country with today’s countries. See the “Countries with data” row in the table.

Source: FAO. 2026. FishStat: Global production by production source. In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division [online]. Rome. Updated 2026. Accessed on 05 November 2026. https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production Licence: CC-BY-4.0. Processed by this site. fao.org/fishery

FishStat data last updated: 2026-03-30

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