(3 Minutes Read)
Eight WTO members deposited their instruments of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at the opening of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), putting the historic agreement for ocean sustainability on track for entry into force at a record pace.
Ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Chad, Malaysia, Norway, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Togo, and Türkiye presented their instruments of acceptance to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in a ceremony at MC13 taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The latest instruments of acceptance bring the total number of WTO members that have formally accepted the Agreement to 69, with a total of 70 expected during MC13.
Adopted by consensus at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), held in Geneva on 12-17 June 2022, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sets new, binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks. In addition, the Agreement recognizes the needs of developing and least-developed countries and establishes a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building to help them implement the obligations.
The Agreement prohibits support for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, bans support for fishing overfished stocks, and ends subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas. Members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiations on outstanding issues and to make recommendations by MC13 for additional provisions that would further enhance the disciplines of the Agreement.
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Completion of ‘Fish 2’ and its rapid entry into force would put WTO members at the forefront of action on the sustainability of our oceans and would safeguard the livelihoods of the 260 million people who depend on these oceans. Ending the estimated USD 22 billion per year in harmful fisheries subsidies would free up resources that subsidisers can repurpose, whether to help people domestically or to help the wider world, such as through green financing for poor countries, or support for climate-related loss and damage , stated Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
