UNCTAD and the Commonwealth Secretariat gather leading experts to discuss options to further advance trade in sustainable fisheries.

A gathering of leading experts in sustainable fisheries met in Geneva on 29 September, the first meeting at this level since world leaders signed up to the aim of conserving life under the sea and using oceans, seas and marine resources sustainably by adopting Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Reiter, emphasized the importance of oceans and ocean resources, like fish, for livelihoods of population, especially in developing countries. He stressed that “We can do much for fish conservation and trade but we have no luxury of time; time has run out, now we need concrete and strong actions to stop the depletion of fish.”

Fisheries, if sustainably managed, have the potential to become one of the main contributors towards poverty reduction and food security, especially in developing countries. According to the World Bank, around 350 million jobs are linked to fisheries, port management and related activities[1] and the livelihoods of 10-12 percent of the global population depend on the sector.

Fish is also one of the most traded food commodities worldwide. It represents about 10 percent of all agricultural exports and 1 percent of all merchandise trade in value terms. The importance of trade in fish and fish products has been steadily increasing in the past two decades. World trade flows in fish and fish products reached $264 billion in 2013, a 76 percent more in terms of trade value than the amount traded in 1995. Developing countries are the main exporters of fish (56 percent), while developed countries account for approximately 69 percent of global imports.

However, instead of protecting and ensuring the sustainability of this valuable resource, the fisheries sector is being threatened on many levels, including by an over-exploitation of its resources, destructive fishing practices, ecosystem degradation and declining biodiversity, climate change, ocean acidification and pollution. Currently, 87 percent of the world’s marine fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited or depleted. In addition, the consumption of fish is growing as population expands at an increased rate, adding to the stress endured.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that rebuilding overfished stocks could increase production by 16.5 million tons and annual rent by $32 billion. The benefits of re-building fisheries in general outweigh the costs.

Despite national, regional and multilateral efforts in the past 20 years, the attempts made still seem insufficient to reverse the decline of global fish stocks.

At the Geneva expert meeting, Mr. Deodat Maharaj, Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, said that: “The achievement of targets such as the end of overfishing and destructive fishing practices and the implementation of science-based management plans to restore fish stocks by 2020 will be extremely difficult to achieve without coherent global action.”

UNCTAD and the Commonwealth Secretariat convened governments, international experts, businesses and other relevant stakeholders to discuss and identify possible approaches and options within the trade policy toolbox to mainstream sustainable fishing practices.

[1] World Bank (2012). Living oceans. See http://go.worldbank.org/A2MYFIUQM0

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Trade policy negotiations should contribute to sustainable fisheries

Remarks by Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General Deodat Maharaj issued during the Commonwealth-UNCTAD Expert Group Meeting on Trade in Sustainable Fisheries, 29 September-1 October 2015

Many of our Commonwealth member states are small island developing states (SIDS) – 25 out of a total membership of 53 countries – and oceans and their evolution are central to their socio-economic development. Many have jurisdiction over significant ocean areas that far, far exceed the land area of the countries themselves.

For example, the exclusive economic zone of The Bahamas covers an area that is 50 times larger than its land territory. Similar characteristics prevail throughout the Commonwealth – in St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, in Seychelles and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, and in the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu in the Pacific.

For all of these Commonwealth member countries, the management of such expansive areas of ocean space and the creation of an ocean economy creates many challenges. The management of fisheries forms an integral element of this challenge for many of our members and is integral to their efforts to achieve sustainable development.

The global ocean market is estimated to be valued at approximately US$1,345 billion per annum, contributing approximately two per cent to the world’s gross domestic product. Approximately 350 million jobs globally are linked to the use of ocean space and resources through fishing, aquaculture, coastal and marine tourism, shipping and research activity. In excess of one billion people depend on fish as their primary source of protein.

The increased reliance on the oceans coupled with mismanagement of ocean resources is placing the oceans under enormous pressure, with implications for humanity that we are only now beginning to fully appreciate.

We have known for some time that global fish stocks are over-exploited and that many fisheries are in a parlous state. The seriousness of the situation was highlighted in figures released only this month in the Living Blue Planet Report, which revealed for the first time that there has been a 50 per cent reduction in utilised fish stocks globally between 1970 and 2010. For fish stocks of particular importance to regional economies and livelihoods, the decline may be even more dramatic. This trend is echoed in the status of marine biodiversity generally.

This illustrates very clearly that there is an urgent need to better manage our ocean space and to focus more on the conservation and rebuilding of global fish stocks. Whilst a series of national, regional and multilateral efforts have been undertaken over the past two decades to address fish stock depletion with some success, much more work remains to be done to improve marine species conservation and the protection of related ecosystems.

This year, I highlighted the need for a collective effort to establish a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable future for all of humanity. This collective effort is equally pertinent as we look for feasible approaches and frameworks to ensure that multilateral and regional trade policy negotiations can, and should, contribute to.

As we all know, 2015 is a significant year for the international community. Last weekend world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGs’), which replace the Millennium Development Goals. The SDGs include a specific goal on our oceans (Goal 14), which urges the international community to take action to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.

The level of ambition within the SDGs is commendable, and there are hopes that they may reinvigorate and build momentum at the multilateral level. However, the question of how to balance sustainable development and conservation remains, as does the challenge of translating the SDG goals into practical action by WTO members within the existing framework of multilateral trade rules.

The main difference between multilateral, regional and bilateral trade negotiations often boils down to the level of ambition in terms of the rule-setting. The speed at which bilateral and regional trade negotiations have been concluded relative to the respective rounds of negotiations under the multilateral trading system and the WTO are testimony to this. For example, 14 years of fisheries subsidies negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda have not yet produced an outcome. The Bali package agreed at the 9th WTO Ministerial is a pale reflection of what was originally envisaged in the Doha Development Agenda and round of negotiations, the first since the WTO inherited the multilateral trading system in 1995. In comparison, some 260 regional trade agreements have been notified to the WTO.

SDG Goal 14 builds upon many of the provisions for oceans and fisheries conservation contained in the Rio+20 outcome document, the Samoa Pathway and the Istanbul Programme of Action – an LDC-led initiative that expires in 2020. The focus on creating a coherent strategy for developing countries includes recognition of the need for special and differential treatment and technical co-operation (Goal 14.7) for SIDS and LDCs.

Because of the level of ambition within the SDGs, some critics have said that implementation is likely to be difficult. The achievement of targets such as the end of overfishing and destructive fishing practices and the implementation of science-based management plans, to restore fish stocks by 2020 (Goal 14.4) will indeed be extremely difficult to achieve without coherent global action.

To conclude, multilateral and regional trade policy negotiations can and should contribute to more sustainable fisheries. Aligning negotiation strategies in view of the stated objectives of the SDGs is important.