Exploring the Potential Impacts of WTO Fisheries Subsidies Rules

The document analyzes how subsidies for industrial and artisanal sardinella fishing in West Africa contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and evaluates how different WTO subsidy prohibition options—targeting IUU fishing, overfished stocks, and overcapacity—could affect the region's food security, economy, and stock recovery.

• Sardinella stocks in West Africa have been considered overfished since 2006, a situation driven by increased fishing capacity and effort promoted by various subsidy programs and inefficient management frameworks.
• Many industrial and artisanal fleets targeting sardinellas are not economically viable without subsidies, particularly those from the EU, Senegal (artisanal), and Mauritania (industrial), which rely heavily on fuel subsidies.
• A WTO prohibition of subsidies for overfished stocks would likely lead to a significant decrease in overall fishing effort and a long-term recovery of sardinella stocks, though it could cause short-term socioeconomic harm, especially for Senegal's artisanal sector.
• Targeting fuel subsidies would be the most impactful option for addressing overfishing and overcapacity, but the document argues for a transitional exception for the artisanal sector due to its critical role in employment, poverty reduction, and food security.
• To maximize the impact of rules prohibiting subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the document recommends a combination of identification by the coastal state, the subsidizing state, and the flag state.
• The effectiveness of new WTO rules depends on the ability of West African states to improve monitoring, control, and surveillance, as current systems are insufficient and may lead fleets to adopt damaging compensation strategies.

APA

Belhabib, D. (2019). Exploring the Potential Impacts of WTO Fisheries Subsidies Rules. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-en.pdf

Chicago

Belhabib, Dyhia. Exploring the Potential Impacts of WTO Fisheries Subsidies Rules. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Belhabib |first1=Dyhia |title=Exploring the Potential Impacts of WTO Fisheries Subsidies Rules |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=December 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{belhabib2019exploring, author = {Belhabib, Dyhia}, title = {{Exploring the Potential Impacts of WTO Fisheries Subsidies Rules}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }