A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table?

The document outlines a draft WTO agreement intended to limit subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the fishing of overfished stocks, and overcapacity. It highlights the convergence among members on these three substantive areas and notes the goal of reaching a consensus at the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) to protect food security and livelihoods dependent on healthy fish stocks.

• The draft agreement circulated on November 24, 2021, shows significant agreement among WTO members across three primary areas: subsidies contributing to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, subsidies for fishing overfished stocks, and subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing.
• The overarching goal of the proposed treaty is to eliminate harmful subsidies that jeopardize the sustainable use of global marine resources and negatively impact the development, food security, and livelihoods of populations relying on fish stocks.
• The agreement adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference created the first legally binding global framework to restrict subsidies for IUU fishing, overfished stocks, and vessels operating on unregulated high seas, while urging 'due restraint' for vessels with unknown stock status or those not flying the providing country's flag.
• Singapore was the second WTO member to ratify the agreement and the first coastal state to do so.

APA

Tipping,, T. I. (2022). A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies

Chicago

Tipping,, Tristan Irschlinger,Alice. A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tipping, |first1=Tristan Irschlinger,Alice |title=A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=17 May 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tipping2022draft, author = {Tipping,, Tristan Irschlinger,Alice}, title = {{A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }