Subsidies In World Fisheries

In the past six years, the world's fishery sector has reached a turning point with global fish production reaching a plateau of approximately 100 million tons annually. While aquaculture output continued to grow, yields from capture fisheries were uneven and showed increasing signs of stagnation because of widespread overfishing and overcapitalization, ineffective management, deteriorating resource health, declining or flat global harvests, and inefficient economic and trade policies. This paper examines the role of subsidies in fisheries.

Introducing fisheries subsidies explains why fishery subsidies are of concern, discusses alternatives to subsidies, explains why they are implemented and briefly considers the difficulties caused by their existence. The discussion then sharpens the focus to analyse a number of relevant topics. The final chapter considers current discussions on how the international community might be able to impose sufficient discipline to bring the subsidies that stimulate overfishing under control. There follows a more technical discussion of the linkage between fishery subsidies and their effects on sustainability and trade.

Chapter 3 National Experiences with Subsidies, their Impacts and Reform Processes; Introduction; Fisheries Subsidies: The Senegalese Experience; The Impact of Fisheries Subsidies on Tuna Sustainability and Trade in Ecuador; Fisheries Subsidy Reform in Norway; Common lessons from Senegal, Ecuador and Norway Cases; Chapter 4 Emergence of an International Issue: History of Fisheries Subsidies in the WTO; Introduction; Phase I: Early Analysis and Preliminary International Action; Phase II: Globalization and the Shift of Focus to the WTO; Phase III: The WTO Negotiations Take Shape

This publication contains detailed and practical guidance for fisheries professionals on identification, assessment and reporting of subsidies in the fisheries sector, covering the following topics: planning and preparation for a fishery subsidies study; definitions and categories of subsidies; assessment methods and measurement factors; comparative analysis; costs and earnings analyses, taking into account the impact on industry profits; and reporting issues.

Subsidies to fisheries have been in existence for centuries. However, these remained outside the spotlight of the international community until the turn of this century when the negative effects that fisheries subsidies have on international trade, the environment and sustainable development became increasingly clear. As a result the Doha Round Negotiations set the parameters for an effective fisheries subsidies regime. WTO Members thus embarked in intensive negotiations with the collaboration of various international organizations. These negotiations culminated with publication of the legal text of the Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Rules in 2007 which reflects to a large extent the mandates of the Ministerial Conferences and reconciles the diverse interests of the negotiators. The EU as a major WTO Member and with its own Common Fisheries Policy which has been in effect for a number of years can serve as the basis for comparison and improvement of the proposed regulations.

The fisheries sector is in crisis. Inappropriate subsidies to the fishing industry are a key factor responsible for worldwide fisheries depletion, overcapitalization and ecosystem degradation. There is an urgent need for an international mechanism to promote the appropriate restructuring of fisheries subsidies in order to create a more sustainable industry. In recent years the leading international forum charged with providing such a mechanism has been the World Trade Organization (WTO).This book explains why and how the reform of fisheries subsidies has become one of the most concrete and potentially successful international efforts to achieve global environmental, economic and developmental policy coherence. It describes the history and current status of the discussions at the WTO, drawing on UNEP's key documents and reflecting on the major issues. Accompanying the book are downloadable resources containing full-text versions of the most important source material used in the publication. The book is aimed at a broad stakeholder audience, including policymakers in the fields of trade, fisheries, environmental economics and international environmental governance, as well as academics and others looking for an overview of the fisheries subsidies issue and an introduction to its technical components.Published with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

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