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Reference.org
Fish as food
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<p>Many species of <a href="/facts/Fish/fln4gH9V">fish</a> are <a href="/facts/Fishing/EBVEPvhI">caught</a> by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Their <a href="/facts/Meat/DUHTTM1d">meat</a> has been an important dietary source of <a href="/facts/Protein_(nutrient)/JTsv4Rhw">protein</a> and other <a href="/facts/Nutrient/34bn4skK">nutrients</a> in the <a href="/facts/Human_diet/GntDW6oo">human diet</a>. </p><p>The English language does not have a special <a href="/facts/Culinary_name/3HcaTF6E">culinary name</a> for food prepared from fish like with other animals (as with <i><a href="/facts/Pig/b5wxwdDY">pig</a></i> vs. <i><a href="/facts/Pork/TuIYFNeU">pork</a></i>), or as in other languages (such as Spanish <i>pez</i> vs. <i>pescado</i>). In <a href="/facts/Culinary/ekcLxQhq">culinary</a> and <a href="/facts/Fishery/TBvcT9bB">fishery</a> contexts, <i>fish</i> may include so-called <a href="/facts/Shellfish/JjTSlMgw">shellfish</a> such as <a href="/facts/Mollusc/1elgknsQ">molluscs</a>, <a href="/facts/Crustacean/PBobIVJP">crustaceans</a>, and <a href="/facts/Echinoderm/j2rd8qwt">echinoderms</a>; but, more expansively, <a href="/facts/Seafood/geXBKfzJ"><i>seafood</i></a> covers both fish and other <a href="/facts/Marine_life/TF5MGzFb">marine life</a> used as food. </p><p>Since 1961, the average annual increase in global apparent food fish consumption (3.2 percent) has outpaced <a href="/facts/Population_growth/oxb6ttX0">population growth</a> (1.6 percent) and exceeded the increase in consumption of meat from all <a href="/facts/Terrestrial_animal/AhP2mont">terrestrial animals</a> except <a href="/facts/Poultry/u8hUQ64j">poultry</a> (4.9 percent), both combined (2.8 percent) and individually (bovine, ovine, porcine, et cetera). In <i><a href="/facts/Per_capita/eX6nLpcA">per capita</a></i> terms, food fish consumption has grown from 9.0 kg (19.8 lb) in 1961, to 20.2 kg (45 lb) in 2015, 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 a combination of many other factors, including reduced <a href="/facts/Food_loss_and_waste/UM1nKTeP">wastage</a>, better utilization, improved <a href="/facts/Distribution_channel/FY5Clxlb">distribution channels</a> and growing <a href="/facts/Consumer_demand/mtb1m6F0">consumer demand</a>, linked with population growth, rising <a href="/facts/Disposable_income/s07hDVV0">disposable incomes</a> and <a href="/facts/Urbanization/GQq0oqft">urbanization</a>. </p><p><a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a>, <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a> and the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> together accounted for 47 percent of the world's total food fish consumption in 1961, but only about 20 percent in 2015. Of the global total of 149 million tonnes in 2015, <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a> consumed more than two-thirds (106 million tonnes at 24.0 kg per capita), while <a href="/facts/Oceania/vzTEvsfV">Oceania</a> and <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">Africa</a> consumed the lowest share. The shift is the result of structural changes in the sector, and the growing role of Asian countries in fish production in particular, as well as a significant gap between the economic growth rates of the world's more mature fish markets and those of many increasingly important emerging markets around the world, particularly in Asia. </p>