History of Fish in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: August 5, 2025

Fish are aquatic, gill-bearing vertebrates characterized by fins, a hard skull, and the absence of limbs with digits. They are divided into jawless and jawed fish, the latter encompassing cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as extinct groups. Modern phylogenetics regards fish as a paraphyletic group, challenging the traditional classification of all fish into a single class. This classification reflects the evolutionary relationships and shared ancestry of these diverse aquatic creatures.

1937: Peak of Pacific Sardine Fishery in 1937

In 1937, the Pacific sardine fishery off the California coast reached its peak at 800,000 tonnes.

1968: Decline of Pacific Sardine Fishery in 1968

By 1968, the catch from the Pacific sardine fishery off the California coast had steadily declined to an economically inviable 24,000 tonnes from a 1937 peak of 800,000 tonnes.

1992: Collapse of Atlantic Northwest Cod Fishery in 1992

By 1992, overfishing had reduced the Atlantic northwest cod fishery population to 1% of its historical level.

2016: Fish Species Count in 2016

As of 2016, there were over 32,000 described species of bony fish, over 1,100 species of cartilaginous fish, and over 100 hagfish and lampreys. A third of these fall within the nine largest families. About 64 families are monotypic, containing only one species.

2017: FAO Report on Overfished Stocks in 2017

In 2017, the Food and Agriculture Organization reported that 34 percent of the fish stocks of the world's marine fisheries were classified as overfished, posing a major threat to edible fish like cod and tuna.

2020: Fish Consumption Statistics in 2020

As of 2020, over 65 million tonnes (Mt) of marine fish and 10 Mt of freshwater fish were captured, while some 50 Mt of fish, mainly freshwater, were farmed. Of the marine species captured in 2020, anchoveta represented 4.9 Mt, Alaska pollock 3.5 Mt, skipjack tuna 2.8 Mt, and Atlantic herring and yellowfin tuna 1.6 Mt each.

2024: 2024 IUCN Red List Identifies Endangered Fish

The 2024 IUCN Red List names 2,168 fish species that are endangered or critically endangered, including the Atlantic cod, Devil's Hole pupfish, coelacanths, and great white sharks. Because fish live underwater they are more difficult to study and information about fish populations is often lacking.