Financial assistance must be expanded to help developing and least-developed country (LDC) members establish sustainable fisheries in light of an historic World Trade Organization agreement to curb harmful fishing subsidies. This comment was made by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at an Aid for Trade Global Review event on 27 July.

At this gathering a new report by the Secretariat was launched. The event also featured high-level officials from coastal economies and donor partners who expressed support for channelling more resources towards sustainable fisheries.

A multilateral agreement on ocean sustainability

She said: ‘At our 12th Ministerial Conference, WTO members adopted a new Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The Agreement is the first broadly-focused, binding multilateral agreement on ocean sustainability. It also is the first WTO agreement with environmental sustainability at its core.

‘For developing country and LDC members, implementation will take time, effort and money.

‘The WTO's new report, Implementing the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: Challenges and opportunities for developing and least-developed country members, helps set the context for this important conversation.’

The DG emphasised that 65% of US$5 billion in assistance earmarked for fisheries and the ocean economy between 2010 and 2020 targeted sustainable fisheries according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) presented in the report.

Assistance is dwarfed by subsidies

The DHG added: ‘One telling statistic from the report, though, is that the assistance to sustainable marine fisheries over ten years is dwarfed by the annual US$22 billion in harmful fisheries subsidies. Eliminating these subsidies would in principle unlock a huge amount of resources that could be redirected to promote and support sustainable fisheries management and practices by all members, including developing and LDC members.’

The Director-General then drew attention to the voluntary WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism, which is foreseen in the Agreement to fill gaps in existing assistance and thus ensure that beneficiaries have what they need to fully implement the new WTO rules. The Fund will be operated by the WTO along with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

She commented further: ‘Donors to the Fund already have pledged around half of our initial target of US$10 million, and we are working to get it up and running quickly.’

Her full speech is available here1. The 24-page report is available here2. A three-page handout on the Agreement is available here3.

Input from The Gambia

Ambassador Mere Falemaka of the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat and Ambassador Muhammadou Kah of the Gambia affirmed that developing country members and LDCs will need assistance to implement the Agreement, for example, to meet notification requirements, to establish mechanisms to withdraw prohibited subsidies, and to reform subsidy policies dispersed in various legislation. Ambassador Kah also noted that stock assessments and other features of fisheries management can be costly and will require immediate support.

Ambassador Falemaka, moreover, said regional mapping will be undertaken to better understand technical assistance needs. She underlined the importance of continuing negotiations to conclude further provisions on prohibiting subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.

Representatives from partner organizations also spoke at the session: Kerri-Ann Jones, Deputy-Secretary General of OECD; Maximo Torero, Assistant Director-General and Chief Economist of FAO; and Charlotte de Fontaubert, the World Bank Group’s senior fisheries specialist. They expressed their continuing commitment to work closely with the WTO and its members in support of the Agreement’s implementation. They also emphasized the need for deeper tracking of development assistance to ensure sustainability objectives are met.

1 https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/spno_e/spno31_e.htm

2 https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/implementfishagreement22_e.pdf

3 https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news22_e/fish_29jul22_e.pdf

Picture caption                                                                   

WTO DG Okinjo-Iweala calls for more support for sustainable fisheries, launches new report.

Photo per: www.wto.org

WTO ©.