As a subject matter expert in environmental science and fisheries, I can provide an estimate based on available data and research. However, it's important to note that the number of fish killed daily is a complex figure to calculate due to various factors such as fishing practices, aquaculture, and natural mortality rates.
For commercial fishing, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations provides statistics on the amount of fish caught globally each year. As of the latest data, it's approximately 90 million metric tons annually, which translates to about 246,575 metric tons per day.
Aquaculture, or fish farming, also contributes to the total number of fish harvested. According to the FAO, global aquaculture production was about 80 million metric tons in the latest reported year. If we divide this by 365, we get about 219,178 metric tons per day.
It's also important to consider that not all fish caught or harvested are killed. Some are released back into the water for various reasons, such as being too small or not the target species.
Natural mortality, which includes fish that die from disease, predation, and other natural causes, is another factor. However, this is difficult to quantify and is not typically included in the numbers of fish "killed" by humans.
To give a rough estimate, if we add the commercial catch and aquaculture figures, we get a total of about 465,753 metric tons per day. Assuming an average fish size (which varies greatly), this could be in the billions of individual fish. However, this is a very rough estimate and the actual number can fluctuate based on many variables.
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