Capital: Budapest
Population: 9,5 million
(2025, Eurostat)
GDP: €206,0 billion
(2024, Eurostat)- GDP/capita: €21 550
(2024, Eurostat)
Overview of the Hungarian fisheries and aquaculture sector
Fisheries sector
Being a landlocked country, Hungary does not have a marine fishing fleet, and it also stopped commercial fishing on its inland waters beginning 1 January 2016. As a result, the bulk of the domestic fish supply comes from aquaculture. A lesser amount is represented by selective fishing for ecological purposes (i.e. selective fishing of invasive and alien species), whose catches can be sold on the market accompanied by a catch certificate. However, this amount represents only 5 % of the total natural water catch. The bulk of the volume harvested from natural waters is caught by recreational fishermen. The catch goes for consumption at home and is taken into account in fish consumption statistics. Hungary had over 530.000 registered anglers in 2024 and their total catch amounted to 4. 477 tonnes.
There are 2.451 registered natural water bodies as fishing areas in Hungary with a total area of 164.891 hectares.The fishing rights of all natural water bodies (lakes, rivers, etc.) belong to the State and are leased out with long-term contracts. As the priority is given to angling-oriented fisheries management, the majority of these areas are leased by the National Federation of Hungarian Anglers (MOHOSZ) and its member associations. The fisheries management activities (e.g., restocking, control, exploitation, etc.) of the holders of fishing rights must be based on a fisheries management plan approved by the fisheries authority. Anglers are among the most important customers of the aquaculture sector (as the fish for restocking is produced in aquaculture), and their demand for certain native species (mostly bream and predatory fishes) is an important driving force behind the development of rearing techniques in aquaculture.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture in Hungary has a long history, going back in time as far as the Middle Ages. A book on fish ponds by Jan Dubravius (1547) praises the fish ponds of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus (1458-1490), specifically mentioning the fish pond of Tata (which is still operational). Still, medieval aquaculture was mostly limited to monasteries and the nobles’ courts. It was only after the regulation of the rivers in the 19th century, which ended the previous legendary fish richness of Hungary, that the development of modern aquaculture started.
Over the past decade, Hungary’s aquaculture production of market-size fish has grown at a moderate average rate; within this, pond aquaculture recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.54%, while intensive aquaculture expanded much faster, with a CAGR of 6,31%. In 2024, 379 companies operating 458 fish farm sites provided production data. Covering all age groups and species, the total output reached 22,838 tonnes from pond aquaculture and 5,778 tonnes from intensive aquaculture units. The production value of market-size fish amounted to EUR 50.3 million for pond production and EUR 34.2 million for intensive production. Among market-size fish produced in pond aquaculture, common carp accounted for 78,3% of the total output for human consumption. However, when considering total aquaculture production of market fish across all production systems, the share of carp was significantly lower, at 61%. The sector employed 1.241 persons on a full-time basis, with 1.026 men and 215 women. Part-time employment amounted to 199 persons (149 men and 50 women). Out of all part- and full-time employees, 129 were family members.
Pond aquaculture dominates the production, delivering an average of about 79,8% of the total aquaculture production volumes annually. Fish is traditionally produced semi-intensively in earthen ponds, rearing several species, mostly common carp (Cyprinus carpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) and predatory species (wels catfish (Silurus glanis), pike (Esox lucius), pike-perch (Sander lucioperca)) together in polyculture in order to better utilise the natural food resources. Supplementary feeding is done with cereals, and thus, this type of aquaculture is not dependent on the fish meal and fish oil supply. The typical production cycle of common carp lasts three years, although technologies are available for a shorter-cycle production.
A growing subsector of aquaculture is intensive fish farming. The most important intensively reared species is African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), of which Hungary is the biggest producer in Europe, having increased its production from virtually zero to over 5.400 tonnes market size fish in twenty years. Other species in intensive systems are sturgeons (Acipenser spp.) (mostly for caviar production) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), but there is a growing interest towards intensive rearing of valuable indigenous predatory species (wels catfish, pike, pike-perch) as well. In 2024 the volume of fish produced in intensive systems was 5.785 tonnes—almost a 5% increase compared to the previous year.
Processing
No official data are available recently on the output from the fish processing sector in Hungary. The development of the national statistical data collection program is in progress and data collection has been started in 2025. The available data from 2023 shows, there are 24 companies were actively engaged in fish processing as their primary activity, while according to the national company register, a total of 70 companies listed fish processing as one of their activities, although not all of them carried out processing in practice. The detailed evaluation of the country’s fish processing sector was made in 2019 by the Research Institute for Agricultural Economics (AKI). According to the conducted survey, the volumes of processed products reached about 7.000 tonnes in 2018, of which 5.500 tonnes were produced from domestic raw material. Over half of the 24 enterprises that participated in the survey stated that they process domestic fish only, and 12 of them do only primary processing.
Trade
Hungary is a net importer of fish and seafood products. On average, about 58.2% of the apparent consumption volume is imported. In 2024 import volumes reached 25, 4 thousand tonnes valued at 142,4 million euros. Prepared and preserved fish made up the largest product group with a 46% share of the volume, followed by fillets (either fresh or frozen) with 20,7%, and whole frozen fish (except fillets) with a 14,9% share. Atlantic salmon and to a lesser extent rainbow trout dominated the whole-fresh group, while hake was the largest whole-frozen species. More than 90% of the imported volumes of fish and seafood originate from EU countries—mainly Poland, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, and Slovakia in 2024.
Exports in 2024 totalled 4,47 thousand tonnes worth 24,8 million euros. Live fish, primarily carp, is traditionally the largest export item with 58% share of the total volumes, amounting in 2024 to 2.103 tonnes. Romania is the largest market for Hungary’s live fish, absorbing over half of the volumes, while Croatia and Germany were two other important destinations.
Consumption
In the past decade, fish consumption in Hungary has been increasing but still remains one of the lowest per capita levels in Europe. According to Eurobarometer data, about one-third of the consumers never buy fisheries and aquaculture products. Per capita fish consumption in 2023 was 5,8 kg (live weight), which is about a quarter of the EU average. About 74,9% of the consumed fish and seafood come from imports (mostly marine fish).
On the other hand, Hungary’s per capita consumption of common carp (around 1,2 kg) is the highest in the EU. While fish consumption is still mostly seasonal (up to 35-40% of the total annual fish consumption takes place during the Christmas period), the development of fish processing and the large fish product range of the international retail chains have helped to increase demand at other times of the year as well. Another important factor has been the fish promotion campaigns launched by both the government and the farmers. In addition to an EMFAF-supported campaign promoting fish consumption, the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Inter-branch Organisation (MA-HAL) also organizes several fish cooking and fish tasting events throughout the year (many of them are also supported by the government). The government also puts much effort into raising consumer trust in the quality of fish products, e.g., with quality awards, certification marks, and geographical indications.
Publications
The lastest version of the Guide to Recirculation Aquaculture is available in Hungarian here:
Useful Links for Hungary
• Fisheries and Aquaculture Website of the Hungarian Government
• Ministry of Agriculture
• Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Inter-branch Organisation
• National Federation of Hungarian Anglers
• Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, AKI, Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture (HAKI)
• Research Institute of Agricultural Economics
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