For the first time in human history, farmed fish production overtook that of beef in 2012, based on data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United States Department of Agriculture. Where 63 million tons of beef were produced last year, some 66 million tons of fish were harvested from fish farms, mostly to meet the world population's growing need for animal protein. Recent research from the Earth Policy Institute project that this year could mark the first instance where people will consume more fish grown in tanks, closed-system ponds, and open-sea pens than those caught in the wild.

Angara, E. J. (2013, June 30). Farm fishing. Manila Bulletin, pp. 11, 12.