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UNCTAD14 sees 90 countries sign up to UN roadmap for elimination of harmful fishing subsidies

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UNCTAD14 sees 90 countries sign up to UN roadmap for elimination of harmful fishing subsidies

UNCTAD14 sees 90 countries sign up to UN roadmap for elimination of harmful fishing subsidies
Photo credit: Getty

Some 90 countries backed an UNCTAD-FAO-UNEP initiative on Wednesday, signing up to a roadmap towards ending harmful fishing subsidies.

Fishing subsidies are estimated to be as high as $35 billion worldwide, of which $20 billion directly contributes to overfishing. According to FAO data, the share of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels continues to decline, falling from 90 percent under sustainable levels in 1974 to 69 percent in 2013.

Linked to this precipitous decline in fish stocks, global leaders agreed last September a new sustainable development goal (SDG) on fisheries, Goal 14, to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, sea, and marine resources. Target 14.6 addresses the harmful subsidies directly. It has re-energised efforts to reduce subsidies on fisheries. 

“Getting 90 countries to sign up to a new initiative in such a short period of time shows both the need for this initiative and the power of UNCTAD in building consensus for meaningful change,” UNCTAD Secretary-General, Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi said.

“I welcome this collaboration with our colleagues at the FAO and UNEP, and look forward to engaging the fisheries sector with our trade and economics expertise,” he said.

The roadmap includes a four-point plan:

  1. Require countries to provide information on what subsidies they are providing.

  2. Prohibit those subsidies which contribute to overfishing and illegal fishing.

  3. Introduce new policies tools to deter the introduction of new harmful subsidies.

  4. Provide special and differential treatment to developing countries.

Fisheries are a key source of protein and livelihoods for the millions in coastal communities, who are powerless by themselves to tackle the heavily subsidized industrial fishing boats and the overfishing that these involve.

At the launch, UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Joakim Reiter said: “The status quo means that we have been watching a tragedy unfolding, without taking sufficient action. It is, frankly, a scandal”. 

“This roadmap is a strong and unequivocal plea by all those supporting the joint UNCTAD-FAO-UNEP statement that elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies must be achieved by the next WTO Ministerial Conference in 2017. What we are saying, with one voice, is that decisive action in this area is long overdue,” he said.

UN Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim said: “The time for short-term thinking is over if we are to secure human health and prosperity for centuries to come. After all, if there are no fish left in the sea, there will be no fishing industry.” 

Kosta Stamoulis, Assistant Director General of the FAO, said the roadmap manifests joint resolve to move “from decisions and proclamations to action” in line with UNCTAD14’s theme. He expressed FAO’s readiness to support developing country fishing nations to strengthen capacities of their national authorities to introduce and implement effective fish management. 

Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the WTO and former Global Ocean Commissioner, who was present at the launch, welcomed the use of UNCTAD14 to get more countries to sign up and create more pressure for a robust solution in the WTO. “That’s what politics is about,” he said. “Building a coalition.” 

The joint UNCTAD-FAO-UNEP roadmap also has support from 4 international and regional governmental organisations, including the Commonwealth and African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group (ACP). It also has support from 10 global civil society organizations, including WWF, Oceana, CUTS International and International Institute of Sustainable Development.


Regulating fisheries subsidies must be an integral part of the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda

UNCTAD-FAO-UNEP Joint Statement, 20 July 2016

With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (September 2015), a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14) is exclusively dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources. This marks the first time in which achieving sustainable management of fisheries and marine resources has been included in the global governance agenda. This goal encompasses a specific target (SDG 14.6) to prohibit by 2020 those fisheries subsidies that lead to overcapacity and overfishing, to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to refrain from adopting such subsidies.

Goal 14 and its targets are vital to ensure domestic and international food security. In FAO’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (2016), FAO estimates that the proportion of assessed marine fish stocks fished within biologically sustainable levels has declined from 90 percent in 1974 to 68.6 percent in 2013, whereas 31.4 percent of fish stocks were at biologically unsustainable levels and, therefore, overfished. The existence of harmful forms of fisheries subsidies remains one of the principal factors that contribute to such overfishing and depletion of fish stocks.

Fisheries subsidies have been roughly estimated to be as high as $35 billion worldwide, of which about $20 billion have been categorized as capacity-enhancing subsidies that directly contribute to overfishing. However, the issue of addressing and removing fisheries subsidies has been a complicated and thorny one. The lack of information concerning countries’ activities and comprehension of the magnitude and impact of such support are persistent problems. Another complication is that there are many types of subsidies. Certain subsidies are associated with development actions focused on developing countries. As such, some subsidies, coupled with development programmes and effective management frameworks, could be instrumental in achieving SDGs. A particular area of concern is the continuation of those subsidies that undermine sustainable development, as noted in the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in 2012. Failure to address these subsidies will jeopardize the livelihoods of coastal populations, particularly in countries and communities most dependent upon fish production.

Tackling the fisheries subsidies issue through the multilateral and regional trade frameworks has faced difficulties and failed to produce concrete results. However, the opportunity costs of inaction are particularly high. A positive negotiation outcome in the WTO subsidies negotiations, aligned with the SDG’s stated objectives and targets will improve international efforts to address many of the negative impacts of fisheries subsidies, leading to improved transparency on specific governmental subsidy programmes. The recent UNCTAD-Commonwealth’s Ad Hoc Expert Meeting on Trade in Sustainable Fisheries (2015), as well as the International Seminar on Oceans Economy and Trade: Sustainable fisheries, transport and tourism (2016), confirmed that the immediate question facing the international trade community is how to operationalize these global commitments.

The SDG 14 creates new momentum at the multilateral level to address unsustainable practices in the marine capture fisheries sector. Regulating fisheries subsidies cannot be seen as a stand-alone issue. It is vital to adopt a holistic approach for the sector’s development that also addresses market access (tariffs and non-tariff measures) and capacity constraints in implementing sustainable fisheries-related measures.

UNCTAD, FAO and UNEP stand ready to support international efforts to achieve the SDGs and have identified the following minimum outcomes that could contribute to the members’ efforts to meet Target 14.6:

  • accurate, additional, practical and feasible provisions for the transparent notification of all relevant fisheries subsidies;

  • clear prohibition of subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, including subsidies linked to IUU fishing, and those that undermine sustainable development, food and nutritional security, jeopardizing the livelihoods of coastal populations;

  • adequate and appropriate instruments and tools to deter introduction of new harmful subsidies; and

  • special attention and treatment to developing countries, in particular, the least developed ones and Small Islands Development States (SIDS), so that they can continue to use their marine resources sustainably.

The SDGs and their specific targets represent a comprehensive avenue for advancing sustainability. International Organizations, such as UNCTAD, FAO and UNEP, are ready to support Members States in achieving policy coherence and provide capacity building and technical assistance.

With the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing coming into force on 05 June 2016, an important tool has been launched in the global fight against IUU fishing. We welcome the Agreement’s entry into force and encourage more States to deposit their instruments of adherence to the Agreement. We invite the international community to demonstrate similar determination in prohibiting those fisheries subsidies that lead to overcapacity and overfishing and to eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing. The entry into force of the Port State Measures Agreement and concerted efforts to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies represent key elements in a global strategy to protect our oceans and their valuable natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

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