Governments face multiple challenges to sustainably manage marine natural resources. Effects of habitat degradation, overfishing, pollution and climate change are exacerbated by the growing capacity of fishing vessels, including high-efficiency fleets.
These are magnified by the distortive effects of public fisheries support, the insufficient availability of scientific data and the weak enforcement of ocean governance. This combination of challenges calls for a profound transformation of the fisheries sector to align it with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In the area of fisheries subsidies, 20 years of negotiations by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are now at an advanced stage, with only a few issues left to address. WTO members have pledged to conclude the negotiations before the 12th ministerial conference scheduled for June 2022, though they’re already behind the original deadline of 2020.
Sustainability is at the core of the negotiations and a WTO outcome on fisheries subsidies is at our doorstep – an opportunity that cannot be missed. Today, 34% of global marine fish stocks have fallen to levels that are biologically unsustainable. Subsidies and overfishing generate losses of about $88.9 billion due to forgone net benefits.
Ending harmful practices, including overfishing and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, plus rebuilding depleted marine resources could increase global catches by up to 20%…