WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies enters into force
The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is the WTO's first multilateral agreement with environmental sustainability at its core. It prohibits government support to illegal fishing activities and overexploitation of stocks, contributing to the protection of marine life.
At the meeting, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received the instruments of acceptance of the Agreement from Brazil, Kenya, and Viet Nam and Tonga, bringing the total number of acceptances over the threshold of two-thirds of WTO members needed for the Agreement to enter into force.
In her address to the WTO membership, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: "At a time when the international trading system faces profound challenges, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sends a powerful signal that WTO members can work together in a spirit of cooperation and shared responsibility to deliver solutions to global challenges. The entry into force of this Agreement stands as a reminder that many of the biggest challenges we face are more effectively addressed at the multilateral level. People and nations need a multilateralism that delivers – which is why today is so reassuring."
DG Okonjo-Iweala signed the official depositary notification of the Agreement's entry into force and handed it to General Council Chair Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel of Saudi Arabia, marking the official integration of the Agreement into the WTO legal framework.
Ambassador Almoqbel said: "This Agreement is a testament to our shared vision for sustainable global fisheries. Acceptance of the Protocol has demanded not just the engagement of our Ambassadors and delegates here in Geneva. It has also involved genuine political will and careful coordination in capitals. It is thanks to our collective resolve and commitment that we witness its entry into force today.”
The GC chair also announced that Mali and Oman have ratified the Agreement and that they will be depositing their instruments of acceptance "in the very near future."
Members hailed the Agreement as a major milestone for the WTO, emphasizing that it confirms their commitment to the multilateral trading system and to a more sustainable planet. They also pledged to start implementing the Agreement, underscoring the key role it will play in restoring fish stocks, protecting the livelihoods of fishing communities and promoting food security.
By establishing rules that prohibit the worst forms of harmful fisheries subsidies, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies will help to protect the world’s fish stocks and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of peoples who depend on fisheries for food, income and employment.
Adopted by consensus at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022, the Agreement's disciplines prohibit subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, for fishing overfished stocks, and for fishing on the unregulated high seas.
In 2021, 35.5 per cent of global fish stocks were overfished compared with 10 per cent in 1974.(1) It is estimated that subsidies to marine fishing activities total USD 35 billion per year globally. Of this amount, around USD 22 billion are considered to be harmful, contributing to the depletion of marine stocks.
Congratulatory messages were shared by UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres and by Ambassador Olivier Poivre d'Arvor on behalf of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. Video messages were provided by the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Cabo Verde Ulisses Correia e Silva, the President of Chile Gabriel Boric, the Prime Minister of Iceland Kristrún Frostadóttir, the Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar bin Ibrahim, the Vice President of Switzerland Guy Parmelin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji Manoa Kamikamica and the UN Special Envoy for the Ocean Ambassador Peter Thomson.
"I strongly encourage all remaining members to complete their acceptances without delay", DG Okonjo-Iweala said. "One of my key aspirations is to see the Agreement ratified by all members by the 14th Ministerial Conference [scheduled for March 2026], where we will have the opportunity to celebrate this collective achievement together," she added.
Several WTO members echoed the Director-General's call for all members to ratify the Agreement and offered their support for capacity building in developing economies to help them implement the Agreement. Information for members on how to accept the Protocol of Amendment can be found here.
Implementation of the Agreement
Ministers have established the WTO Fish Fund to provide developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs) with technical assistance and capacity-building needed to implement the new obligations and manage their own fisheries more sustainably.
Seventeen members have pledged the equivalent of more than USD 18 million to the WTO Fish Fund.
In early June, the Fund launched its first Call for Proposals inviting eligible members that have ratified the Agreement to submit requests for project grants aimed at supporting them implement the Agreement. Applications are due by 9 October. The WTO Fish Fund portal can be found here.
To oversee implementation of the Agreement, a Committee on Fisheries Subsidies will be established to maintain regular dialogue on members' fishing practices and subsidies and to increase transparency on governments' practices.
The list of WTO members which have deposited their instruments of acceptance of the Agreement with the WTO can be found here. A video compiling all the deposits can be viewed here.
A factsheet outlining the objectives and benefits of the Agreement can be found here.
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