Animals / Aquatic animals
fish and the life of water
Aquatic animals
Fish and other aquatic animals, in the wild and in farming, and the welfare questions each raises.
Quick answer
Aquatic animals include fish and other animals that live in water, whether caught in the wild or raised on farms. In 2022, farms produced 51% of the world's aquatic animals, according to the FAO, and one estimate puts farmed fish slaughtered at 78 to 171 billion a year. Fish are often left out of welfare conversations.
Last reviewed . Sources are listed below.
the basics
What this area covers
Aquatic animals include fish caught in the wild, fish raised on farms, and other animals that live in water. They are a large part of the food system, yet they are rarely part of conversations about animal welfare.
At the Humane Choices Foundation (HCF), we explain how wild fish are caught, how fish farming works, what welfare protections exist, and why oceans, rivers, and lakes matter to all of it. In 2022 the world produced 185.4 million tonnes of aquatic animals, and for the first time more of them came from farms than from the wild.
Because fishes are counted by weight instead of as individuals, they are easy to overlook. One estimate puts the number of farmed fishes killed each year at 78 to 171 billion, which could be up to twice the number of land animals slaughtered for food.
dig in
Questions worth asking
Our guides on each question are being written. Every figure will come with a source.
- How are wild fish caught, and what happens to animals caught by accident?
- How are farmed fish housed and killed?
- Do animal welfare rules cover fish at all?
- What does sustainable on a seafood label mean, and what does it leave out?
follow the thread
How it connects
What happens underwater does not stay underwater. Only 62.3% of marine fish stocks were fished within sustainable levels in 2021, and around 61.8 million people earn a living from fishing and fish farming, so the health of our waters is tied to food, jobs, and the animals themselves.
Land and water use
Fishing and fish farms change rivers, coasts, and oceans. Only 62.3% of marine stocks are fished within sustainable levels.
Food security
Aquatic animals feed billions of people, and 51% of them now come from farms, not the wild.
Climate change
Warming, acidifying oceans put pressure on fish populations and on the people who depend on them.
by the numbers
What the evidence says
Every figure links to its source. See all of them on our facts and sources page.
78 to 171 billion
Faunalytics Library, How Many Fishes Are Slaughtered Annually? Estimate
51%
FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 2022 data
62.3%
FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024, key messages 2021 data
quick answers
Frequently asked questions
What counts as an aquatic animal?
Fish and other animals that live in water, including those caught wild and those raised in aquaculture.
Where does most aquatic food come from now?
The FAO reports that aquaculture produced 51% of aquatic animals in 2022, the first time farms produced more than wild catch.
How many farmed fish are killed each year?
Estimates vary widely. Faunalytics summarizes research putting it at 78 to 171 billion a year. The range is wide because fishes are usually counted by weight, not by individual.
How many marine fish stocks are overfished?
The FAO reports that 62.3% of marine fish stocks were fished within biologically sustainable levels in 2021. That means more than a third were fished beyond them.
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