At the Thirty-sixth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI36), Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard, told the delegates: “ we have an opportunity and a responsibility to save the fish, and the millions — even billions — who depend on them for food and livelihood”.
Emphasizing the strategic partnership between the WTO and the FAO, Ellard said: “It is impossible to solve the global problems of food systems without trade. A predictable and well-functioning trading system is essential to providing adequate nutrition to populations worldwide.”
Ellard continued: “The sustainability of fisheries is a growing emergency for nations worldwide as the deterioration of fish stocks accelerates unabated.
Many millions of people worldwide depend on marine fishing for income, food security, and livelihood. Sustainable management of our ocean resources is therefore essential for our future. To that end, donors globally have stepped up through development assistance. WTO analysis shows that a total of USD 4.5 billion in support of marine fisheries was disbursed over the 13-year period of ending in 2022, of which 59% targeted sustainable fisheries. However, and this bears highlighting — these disbursements of USD 346 million per year are overwhelmed by the estimated USD 22 billion provided annually in harmful fisheries subsidies — by a factor of 63. What a game changer it would be for the ocean and fish stocks if we turned harmful fisheries subsidies into support for sustainable fisheries.
The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies concluded at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2022 marks a key milestone in achieving this goal. This historic deal prohibits the most harmful subsidies affecting the sustainability of global fisheries, namely those to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, those concerning overfished stocks, and those to fishing in the unregulated high seas.”
Ellard pointed to two critical tasks that lie ahead: (a) the entry into force of the Agreement, and (b) the completion of the ongoing second wave of negotiations, aimed at subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing.
“The goal is to achieve a balanced agreement, with ambitious disciplines on these harmful subsidies as well as appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing Members, particularly to support artisanal and livelihood fishing,” Ellard added.