Sovereign and dependent territory rows of the World Bank “Capture fisheries production (metric tons)” indicator (top 30 by most recent year). Values in million tonnes, rounded to two decimals. Aggregates (region.id === “NA”) excluded. Marine plus inland capture; aquaculture is not included. Original source: FAO.
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How to use this chart
Play/Pause starts and stops the year-by-year animation, the year slider jumps to any year, and the speed selector (0.5×, 1×, 2×) changes playback speed. Each year shows the top 12 entries out of the 30 held in the dataset.
About this ranking
About this metric. “Capture Fisheries Production by Country (Time Series)” reformats data published by the World Bank (indicator code ER.FSH.CAPT.MT, original source FAO). Values are expressed in million tonnes.
What to watch. Follow Japan’s bar from the start: the world’s biggest fishing nation of the 1970s–80s shrinks to a quarter of its peak as 200-mile zones and the sardine collapse bite. Peru’s wild swings in El Niño years (1972–73, 1982–83, 1997–98) are the other spectacle.
Caveats. Wild capture only — fast-growing aquaculture is excluded. Figures are self-reported national statistics, and possible over-reporting by China has long been debated among FAO statisticians and researchers.
Trends in the data
Japan’s fall is the single biggest event in this table. Its catch doubled from 5.95 million tonnes in 1960 to 11.62 million in 1984, then declined to 2.90 million tonnes by 2023 — 25% of the peak and 0.49× even the 1960 figure. Japan led continuously from 1960 to 1981; in 2023 it ranks 8th. The decline of 3.05 million tonnes is the largest among these 30 countries, more than eight times the next largest, Canada’s 0.35 million.
China took its place. From 2.22 million tonnes in 1960 it reached 14.43 million in 2002 and leads with 13.42 million in 2023, 6.05× its 1960 level. Indonesia grew 11.50×, from 0.68 to 7.82 million tonnes, climbing from 10th to 2nd; India 5.52×, from 1.12 to 6.18 million; Vietnam from 12th to 7th and Mexico from 19th to 12th. The centre of production has moved from the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere to tropical and subtropical Asia.
Russia’s line begins in 1992. Before that the statistics belong to the Soviet Union and are not in this table. Its first value is 5.56 million tonnes, so the line appears to leap upward from nothing when read from the left. At 5.40 million tonnes in 2023 it ranks 4th, recorded as a climb from 30th to 4th — but that reflects the birth of a country in the statistics rather than a rise in catch. Lines that begin partway through need this reading.
Japan is not the only country to shrink. The United Kingdom fell from 1.02 to 0.72 million tonnes, 0.71×, from 8th to 29th; Canada from 1.08 to 0.73 million, 0.68×, 7th to 27th; and Spain from 0.91 to 0.77 million, 9th to 25th. All were major fishing nations in the 1960s. The 30-country average rose from 0.84 to 2.50 million tonnes, peaking at 2.67 million in 2018. The whole grew while its former leaders left the stage. Note also that Peru’s line swings wildly because its catch depends overwhelmingly on a single species, anchoveta, which collapses in El Niño years.
Trivia quiz
Which small fish, processed mainly into fishmeal, makes Peru a top fishing nation?
The Peruvian anchoveta — the largest single-species fishery in the world, mostly turned into fishmeal and fish oil. (Source)
Which recurring climate event warms Peruvian waters and crashes the anchoveta catch?
El Niño. The 1972–73 El Niño combined with overfishing caused a famous collapse of the anchoveta fishery. (Source)
What is the 200-nautical-mile zone where coastal states hold sovereign rights over fisheries?
The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), formalized by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — a key factor in the decline of Japan's distant-water fishing. (Source)
Source
World Bank — Capture fisheries production, metric tons (ER.FSH.CAPT.MT)