A fishery is a place where fish are caught commercially, or the industry and business of catching fish. When we talk about the Atlantic cod fishery, we mean all the boats, people, and equipment involved in catching cod in the Atlantic Ocean. The Grand Banks fishery off Newfoundland was once so productive that sailors said you could walk across the backs of the fish, though overfishing nearly destroyed it by the 1990s.

The word can refer to wild fishing grounds in oceans, rivers, or lakes, or to fish farms where fish are raised in controlled environments. A salmon fishery might mean either the coastal waters where wild salmon are caught or the facilities where salmon are bred and grown for food.

Fisheries have fed humanity for thousands of years and remain crucial to the global food supply. A healthy fishery provides jobs, food, and economic benefits to coastal communities. However, managing fisheries wisely requires careful attention: catching too many fish too quickly can collapse a fishery entirely, leaving both fish populations and fishing communities struggling to recover. Scientists and governments work to set catch limits and protect breeding grounds so fisheries can remain productive for generations.