Production

Global aquaculture production statistics are published annually in the FAO Yearbook of Fishery Statistics - Aquaculture Production,  which is a compilation of statistics on world production of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals and plants produced from all culture practices (the most recent volume, 98/2, contains data up to 2004). The statistics, in quantity and value, are presented by country or territory, species, culture environment, and year, and for various aggregations. In order to provide complete coverage of aquaculture production statistics throughout the world, where officially reported national statistics are lacking or are considered unreliable, FAO makes estimates based on the best information available.  FAO’s extensive global and regional databases (FISHSTAT) on fishery and aquaculture production can be accessed via the FAO Website (http://faostat.fao.org/1.aspx?alias=faostatclassic).

    Aquaculture production within each region is diverse. In the Asia-Pacific region, some 41.3 million tonnes (69.6 percent of global aquaculture production) were produced in the Peoples’ Republic of China and 21.9 percent from the rest of the region.  Aquaculture production from South Asia, China and most of Southeast Asia consists mainly of cyprinids, while that from the rest of East Asia consists of high-value marine fish. In global terms, some 99.8 percent of cultured aquatic plants, 97.5 percent of cyprinids, 87.4 percent of penaeids and 93.4 percent of oysters come from the Asia-Pacific region.

    In contrast, the Western European region contributed only 3.5 percent of the total global production (2.1 million tonnes valued at US$ 5.4 billion); however, this included 55.6 percent of the world’s farmed salmonids.
The Central and Eastern Europe region contributed some 250 000 tonnes, or 0.4 percent of total global production, with production of carps dominating both in quantity and in value.
   North America contributed 1.3 percent to total global output, with channel catfish being the top aquaculture species in the United States and Atlantic and Pacific salmons dominating in Canada.
   The Latin America and the Caribbean region contributed 2.3 percent of world production. Over the last decade salmonids have overtaken shrimp as the region’s top aquaculture species group due to disease outbreaks in major shrimp-producing areas and the rapid growth in salmon production in Chile.
The Near East and North Africa region accounted for 0.9 percent of global production. Egypt is by far the dominant producing country (92 percent of the total for the region) and is now the second largest tilapia producer after P.R. China and the world’s top producer of mullets.