Sardine statistics span several distinct measures: global catch, European supply, first-sale prices, regional fisheries, stock assessments, and food-composition values. The figures below keep those measures separate. European sardine (Sardina pilchardus), Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), and canned-food nutrient entries do not describe one biological stock.
Contents
- Global and European catch
- Trade flows and EU supply
- First-sale prices in Europe
- UK coastal fishery
- Pacific sardine biomass and management
- Nutrients per serving
Global and European catch
The European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA) reported world sardine catches above 1,236,000 tonnes in 2023. That represented 1.3% of global fish catches. The distribution was highly concentrated: Morocco accounted for 57% of world sardine catches, Mauritania for 24%, and the European Union for 12%.
Morocco’s 2023 sardine catch was 17% lower than in 2014. EU catches also declined over the decade: the EU total was more than 142,200 tonnes in 2023, 43% below the level a decade earlier. These are catch comparisons for the stated periods, not forecasts.
Within the EU, Croatia produced 31,525 tonnes in 2023, equal to 22% of the EU total. Spain supplied 21% of EU sardine catch. The different percentages describe shares of the EU catch, while the global percentages describe shares of world catch.
| Measure | Latest stated figure | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World sardine catch | More than 1,236,000 tonnes | 2023 | EUMOFA Sardine profile |
| Morocco share of world catch | 57% | 2023 | EUMOFA Sardine profile |
| Mauritania share of world catch | 24% | 2023 | EUMOFA Sardine profile |
| EU sardine catch | More than 142,200 tonnes | 2023 | EUMOFA Sardine profile |
| EU catch change | 43% lower than a decade earlier | 2014–2023 | EUMOFA Sardine profile |
Trade flows and EU supply
EUMOFA recorded 59,694 tonnes of extra-EU sardine product imports in 2024 and 25,116 tonnes of extra-EU exports. The import total covers several product categories, so the category figures should be read as product-flow statistics rather than as a single fresh-fish measure.
EU imports of fresh or chilled Sardina pilchardus were 432 tonnes in 2024. Frozen imports were much larger at 31,288 tonnes. Prepared or preserved sardines in olive oil accounted for 3,848 tonnes, while other prepared or preserved sardines accounted for 22,711 tonnes.
Morocco supplied 91% of EU extra-EU sardine imports in 2024, equivalent to 45,674 tonnes. Spain, France, and the Netherlands together represented 73% of EU sardine import volume. On the export side, the United States received 5,369 tonnes and South Africa received 5,027 tonnes; together, those destinations accounted for 41% of EU sardine exports.
For the wider EU supply picture, EUMOFA reported 280,032 tonnes of sardine supply in live-weight equivalent in 2023. Apparent consumption was 214,952 tonnes. Live-weight equivalent and apparent consumption are different measures, so they should not be treated as interchangeable retail or edible-weight totals.
First-sale prices in Europe
First-sale prices describe the value recorded at the initial sale of landed fish, not the price paid by a diner or the shelf price of a tin. EUMOFA’s latest displayed price column is 2025; it is not a 2026 observation.
In 2024, the reported first-sale price was €0.93 per kg in Croatia, €1.53 per kg in Spain, €1.37 per kg in Portugal, and €1.44 per kg in France. In 2025, the corresponding figures were €1.06, €1.70, €1.48, and €1.72 per kg.
| Country | 2024 first-sale price | 2025 first-sale price | Stated longer comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | €0.93/kg | €1.06/kg | €0.57/kg in 2017 |
| Spain | €1.53/kg | €1.70/kg | €1.54/kg in 2016 |
| Portugal | €1.37/kg | €1.48/kg | €1.43/kg in 2023 |
| France | €1.44/kg | €1.72/kg | €1.23/kg in 2017 |
The longer price series gives additional context. Croatia’s first-sale price rose from €0.57 per kg in 2017 to €1.06 per kg in 2025. Spain’s rose from €1.54 per kg in 2016 to €1.70 per kg in 2025. Portugal’s price was €1.34 per kg in 2021, compared with €1.88 per kg in 2018, and increased from €1.43 per kg in 2023 to €1.48 per kg in 2025. France’s price was €1.23 per kg in 2017 and €1.72 per kg in 2025.
These country figures are reported first-sale observations for different time windows. They are useful for comparing the recorded landing-stage market, but they do not establish a common consumer price across countries.
UK coastal fishery
The proposed Celtic Sea and Western Channel Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) area provides a focused view of sardine landings by UK and EU vessels. From 2013 through 2023, those vessels landed 94,280 tonnes of sardines from the area. Sardines represented 39% of all species landings by weight there over the same period.
The area was especially important to UK sardine production. From 2016 through 2023, its sardine landings represented 92% of all UK sardine landings by weight. Combined annual landings in the FMP area ranged from 4,044 tonnes in 2013 to 13,949 tonnes in 2016.
Over 2013–2023, UK vessels landed 4.5 times as much sardine by weight as EU vessels in the FMP area. Sardines made up 16% of EU vessels’ total FMP-species landing weight in the area. The highest annual UK-vessel sardine tonnage was 9,540 tonnes in 2020, while the highest annual value of UK-vessel sardine landings was £3,252,650 in 2023.
The fleet profile also changed over the period. The number of UK vessels landing sardines fell from 87 in 2013 to 49 in 2023. Vessels 15 metres or shorter supplied 95% of UK sardine landings by weight in the FMP area from 2013 through 2023. That concentration makes the small-vessel scale an important part of the area’s sardine landing pattern.
Pacific sardine biomass and management
Pacific sardine figures use a different species and stock-assessment framework from the European catch and trade figures above. The assessment estimated Pacific sardine spawning biomass at ages 1 and older at 36,190 metric tonnes in 2024. The projected 2025 age-1-plus biomass was 30,158 metric tonnes, explicitly a forecast.
Recruitment measures also separate an estimate from a forecast. Age-0 recruitment was estimated at 289,283 thousand fish for model year 2024 and forecast at 1,391,300 thousand fish for model year 2025. These numbers refer to model-year recruitment, not landed tonnage.
U.S. total Pacific sardine landings were 1,774 metric tonnes in the 2023–24 management year, including 844 metric tonnes attributed to the northern subpopulation. For the 2024–25 management year, U.S. total landings were preliminarily 772 metric tonnes through December 31, 2024, including 267 metric tonnes attributed to the northern subpopulation. Because the latter figures were preliminary and partial-year through that date, they should not be read as a completed annual total.
The 2024–25 Pacific sardine overfishing limit was 8,312 metric tonnes, and acceptable biological catch was 6,005 metric tonnes. The harvest guideline was 0 metric tonnes, while the annual catch limit was 6,005 metric tonnes. The annual catch target was 5,500 metric tonnes; reaching that level triggered a 1-metric-tonne-per-trip limit.
The biomass and management measures come from the NOAA 2025 Pacific sardine assessment and NOAA’s 2024–2025 annual specifications. The 2025 biomass and recruitment values include a forecast, and the 2024–25 landings are preliminary through December 31, 2024.
Nutrients per serving
The following values are food-composition table entries reported by the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Serving descriptions matter: canned sardines in tomato sauce, canned sardines in oil, drained fish, and sardines with bones are not identical entries. These figures are composition values, not individualized medical advice.
Three ounces of canned sardines in tomato sauce provide 0.74 grams of DHA and 0.45 grams of EPA, according to the NIH Omega-3 Fatty Acids fact sheet. Two Atlantic sardines canned in oil and drained provide 1.2 micrograms of vitamin D, equal to 46 IU and 6% of the Daily Value, according to the NIH Vitamin D fact sheet.
For minerals, three ounces of canned sardines in oil with bones provide 325 milligrams of calcium, or 25% of the Daily Value. The NIH calcium table uses a 1,300-milligram adult Daily Value for that context. The source is the NIH Calcium fact sheet.
Three ounces of canned sardines in oil with drained solids and bone provide 45 micrograms of selenium, or 82% of the Daily Value, according to the NIH Selenium fact sheet. The same serving description provides 1.1 milligrams of zinc, or 10% of the Daily Value. The NIH Zinc fact sheet uses an 11-milligram adult Daily Value for that comparison.
The vitamin D table uses an adult Daily Value of 20 micrograms, or 800 IU, to contextualize its sardine serving values. Together, the nutrient entries show why serving basis, preparation, and whether bones are included should be stated whenever sardine nutrition statistics are compared.