Data on the volume of aquatic species caught by country or area, by species items, by FAO major fishing areas, and year, for all commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes. The harvest from mariculture, aquaculture and other kinds of fish farming is also included. Weight is measured in tonnes (generally in tonnes of live weight equivalent for aquatic animals, in wet weight for aquatic plants). Acquatic mammals, alligators and crocodiles are measured by number of animals.

This database contains the annual series of global fishery production (capture and aquaculture) since 1950. At present separate data sets for Global Capture production and Global Aquaculture production are available from 1950. Total production time series, starting from 1997 onwards, are obtained from the Global Capture production and the Global Aquaculture production collections.

At present the database shows annual figures for the period from 1950 organized by:

• about 240 countries, territories or land areas.
• by 26 major fishing areas.
• and by approximately 1800 species/items (freshwater, brackishwater and marine species of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals and plants) classified into the FAO International Standard Statistical Classification of Aquatic Animals and Plants (ISSCAAP).

Data are reported yearly and the period used is the calendar year (1 January - 31 December). With the exception of the data on catches in the waters around Antarctica for which the split year (1 July - 30 June) is used.

From 1950 to 1996 data for total production was collected through customized national questionnaires. Total Production time series, after 1996, are obtained summing the Global Capture production and the Global Aquaculture production data.