Une exploration des impacts potentiels des règles de l’OMC sur les subventions à la pêche : Le cas de la pêcherie de sardinelles en Afrique de l’Ouest

The report examines how subsidies for industrial and artisanal fishing in West Africa contribute to the overexploitation of sardinelle stocks and analyzes how potential WTO disciplines on subsidies—specifically those targeting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfished stocks, and overcapacity—could improve sustainability while posing short-term socio-economic risks to local communities.

• Sardinelle stocks in the region have been considered overexploited since 2006, a situation driven by increased fishing capacity and effort encouraged by subsidy programs and ineffective management frameworks.
• Many fishing activities in the region are not economically viable without subsidies. Specifically, fuel subsidies are critical for the profitability of industrial fleets from Mauritania and the European Union, as well as artisanal fleets from Senegal.
• In 2014, total sardinelle landings in Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Senegal were valued at nearly 300 million USD, with the artisanal sector generating 160 million USD and the industrial sector 137 million USD; however, foreign companies capture the majority of industrial sector profits.
• An WTO ban on subsidies for overfished stocks would likely lead to a significant decrease in overall fishing effort and a recovery of sardinelle stocks, though it would cause severe short-term socio-economic harm, particularly to Senegal's artisanal sector.
• To balance sustainability and social welfare, the document suggests applying subsidy bans to the industrial sector first, while granting a temporary exception for the artisanal sector due to its essential role in food security and poverty reduction.
• The effectiveness of new WTO rules depends on the ability of West African states to improve monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS), as current systems are insufficient and some fleets might pivot to IUU fishing to compensate for financial losses.

APA

Belhabib, D. (2019). Une exploration des impacts potentiels des règles de l’OMC sur les subventions à la pêche : Le cas de la pêcherie de sardinelles en Afrique de l’Ouest. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-fr.pdf

Chicago

Belhabib, Dyhia. Une exploration des impacts potentiels des règles de l’OMC sur les subventions à la pêche : Le cas de la pêcherie de sardinelles en Afrique de l’Ouest. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Belhabib |first1=Dyhia |title=Une exploration des impacts potentiels des règles de l’OMC sur les subventions à la pêche : Le cas de la pêcherie de sardinelles en Afrique de l’Ouest |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=December 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-fr.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{belhabib2019une, author = {Belhabib, Dyhia}, title = {{Une exploration des impacts potentiels des règles de l’OMC sur les subventions à la pêche : Le cas de la pêcherie de sardinelles en Afrique de l’Ouest}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/subventions-peche-sardinelles-afrique-ouest-resume-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }