Fisheries Subsidies That Contribute to Overcapacity and Overfishing: A review of key concepts and data

WTO Members reached an agreement on fisheries subsidies at the WTO’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference, but also committed to continue negotiating and agree on more “comprehensive” disciplines. Further talks will aim to establish additional rules on subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing (OCOF). As Members prepare to engage in a first cluster of meetings in late March, the objective of this virtual workshop was to provide delegations with key knowledge tools to support their informed engagement in these negotiations. 

The first session provided participants with a reminder of some of the key concepts that underpin negotiations and an overview of recent research on the evolution and current state of the global fishing fleet. In the second session, experts provided specific data from various sources to help delegates understand the possible scope of further rules in terms of fishing catch, fishing effort, and subsidies. Such information was presented by region, development status, types of maritime areas, and scale of fishing.

Agenda 

2:00 – 2:05: Opening remarks 

2:05 – 3:00: Session 1: Understanding key concepts and context 

• Tristan Irschlinger – Policy Advisor, IISD 
• Yannick Rousseau – Independent fisheries expert 

Open discussion 

3:00 – 4:55: Session 2: Data on the coverage of new rules 

• Yannick Rousseau – Independent fisheries expert 
• Deng Palomares – Senior Scientist and Project Manager, Sea Around Us, University of British Columbia 
• Anna Schuhbauer – Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Fisheries Economics Research Unit, University of British Columbia
• Ernesto Fernández Monge – Senior Officer, Conservation Support, The Pew Charitable Trusts 

Open discussion 

4:55 – 5:00: Concluding remarks