WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies

Accounting for 17 % of the global average per capita intake of animal protein, fisheries products support many people's livelihoods and make a significant contribution to food security. However, more than a third of world stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels. Economic losses from the depletion of fish stocks are estimated at US$83 billion. A reduction in fishing capacity and effort would help stocks recover, yet many governments of fishing countries continue to support the sector with harmful fisheries subsidies. Such subsidies, which directly increase fishing capacity and may lead to overfishing, were estimated to be worth about US$22 billion worldwide in 2018. Fisheries subsidies have been governed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures since 1995. However, these rules focus on tackling trade distortion rather than adverse environmental effects. New disciplines for fisheries subsidies have therefore been part of WTO-level negotiations since 2001. The negotiating mandate was rewritten in 2005 with the aim of eliminating subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing. Negotiations stalled in 2011, but were revived thanks to the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals, whereby government leaders committed to banning harmful fisheries subsidies. The WTO reached an agreement on fisheries subsidies at its 12th Ministerial Conference held on 17 June 2022. The text includes a ban on subsidies for three types of fisheries: fisheries engaged in illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing, fisheries targeting overfished stocks, and fisheries in the 'unregulated' high seas (i.e. international waters where fishing is not yet managed by an intergovernmental organisation). Further restrictions on capacity-enhancing subsidies were not included in the final text as WTO members could not agree on the relevant exemptions for developing countries. Such additional disciplines will be subject to further negotiations. The next steps are formal acceptance of the agreement by at least two-thirds of WTO members, implementation of its provisions and the launch of negotiations on the additional disciplines, to be adopted within 4 years of the agreement's entry into force. This is an update of a briefing published in December 2021.