Fish

Fish, any of approximately 34000 species of vertebrate animals (phylum Chordata) found in the fresh and salt
waters of the world.
Types of fish
• 25000 species
• Outnumber all vertebrates

Around 250 species of fish are used for edible purpose

Edible fishes are classified into two main categories;
Fin fishes
 Have protective scales
 Fin fishes are found in fresh and salt water
Shell fish
Molluscs and crustaceans
Marine fishes include sharks, salmon, mackerel, Sole, tuna etc.
Fresh water fishes include sardine catfish, perch etc.
 Fisheries resources, global and Indian scenario

 The total production included 80.0 million tonnes of food fish (USD 231.6 billion) and 30.1 million tonnes of aquatic
plants (USD 11.7 billion) as well as 37 900 tonnes of non-food products (USD 214.6 million).
 Farmed food fish production included 54.1 million tonnes of finfish (USD 138.5 billion), 17.1 million tonnes of
molluscs (USD 29.2 billion), 7.9 million tonnes of crustaceans (USD 57.1 billion)
o Global fish production peaked at about 178 million tonnes in 2018, with aquaculture representing 47 percent of
the total and 53 percent of non-food uses are excluded.
o The total first sale value of fisheries and aquaculture production in 2018 was estimated at USD 368 billion, of
which USD 235 billion was from aquaculture production.
o With capture fishery production relatively static since the late 1980s, aquaculture has been responsible for the
continuing impressive growth in the supply of fish for human consumption.
o Between 1961 and 2016, the average annual increase in global food fish consumption is 3.2 percent.
 In per capita terms, food fish consumption grew from 9.0 kg in 1961 to 21.2 kg in 2018, at an average rate of
about 1.5 percent per year.
 The expansion in consumption has been driven not only by increased production, but also by other factors,
including reduced wastage.
 In 2015, fish accounted for about 17 percent of animal protein consumed by the global population. Moreover,
fish provided about 3.2 billion people with almost 20 percent of their average per capita intake of animal
protein
• World total marine catch was 79.3 million tonnes in 2016, representing a decrease of almost 2 million tonnes from the
81.2 million tonnes in 2015.
• China, by far the world’s top producer, were stable in 2016, but the inclusion of a progressive catch reduction policy
in the national Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for 2016–2020 is expected to result in significant decreases in the following
years.