fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...

is an area with an associated

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

or aquatic population which is harvested for its commercial value. Fisheries can be wild or farmed. Most of the world's wild fisheries are in the

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

. This article is an overview of ocean fisheries.

Statistics

Oceans occupy 71 percent of the Earth's surface. They are divided into five major oceans, which in decreasing order of size are: the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

, and

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

. Over 70 percent of the world catch from the sea comes from the Pacific Ocean.

Pacific Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

Southern Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Notes

References

* World Ocean Atlas (2005
''World ocean databasee.''
Retrieved 19 April 2008. * The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2007

Retrieved 19 April 2008. * Jacques, Peter (2006
''Globalization and the world ocean''
Rowman Altamira. * Eakins, B.W. and G.F. Sharman (2010
"Volumes of the World's Oceans from ETOPO1"
''NOAA National Geophysical Data Center'', Boulder, CO. {{Fishing industry topics Fishing industry Oceans