top of page

Explore the data
Overfishing: Pillaging the oceans

Below you'll find some charts that are used in the Overfishing: Pillaging the oceans of Not the End of the World. Many of these charts are interactive so that you can explore this data over different periods, and for most countries in the world.

First, I'll list some best data sources that I used when writing this chapter, and go back to them for the most recent updates. They're some of the core datasets that we use on Our World in Data. This is not an exhaustive list – there are lots of others doing great work in this area.

Where to go to explore more:

Explore the Data

Here are some interactive versions of charts used in the book. I've also left some notes on the underlying data source, where you can explore the methodology and related metrics.

If you are using any of this data or the charts, please make sure to credit the underlying source (not me).

The rise and fall of whaling

The chart below shows the rise and fall in global whaling: it's the estimated number of whales that were killed per decade from 1900 onwards.

Source: The data sources are the International Whaling Commission and a study by Rocha et al. (2014).

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.
 

Historical crashes in fish catch

The chart below shows one example of a crash in fish catch in Eastern Canada. In this case, the fish species is cod. It's one example of how fishing can hit limits when it's overexploited for significant periods of time.

Source: The data source is Schjins et al. (2021).

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.
 

Seafood production by country

The chart below shows seafood production by country.

You can explore this data over time by clicking on any country.

Source: The data source is the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.

Global aquaculture and fish catch production

The chart below shows seafood production from capture fisheries (wild seafood) and aquaculture (fish farming).

You can explore this data for countries using the buttons at the top.

Source: The data source is the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (via the World Bank).

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.

Status of global fish stocks

The chart below shows the status of global fish stocks: it shows the change in overfished stocks over time.

Source: The data source is the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.

The decline and recovery of tuna

The chart below shows the size of fish stocks of different tuna species. You can see that there were very steep declines across most species, but some have turned around, and are now increasing again.  Many stocks are still being overexploited though.

Source: The data source is the RAM Legacy Stock Assessment Database.

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.

Bottom trawling

The chart below shows the amount of fish that is caught from bottom trawling.

Source: The data source is published by FishStat via Pauly, Zeller, and Palomares from Sea Around Us Concepts.

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.

Carbon footprint of fish and seafood

The chart below shows the greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of seafood. This is compared to chicken, which is the lowest-carbon form of land-based meat.

Source: The data source is a study published in Nature by Gephart et al. (2021).

Explore more data on Fish and Overfishing at Our World in Data.

bottom of page