Fisheries Subsidies’ Contribution to Overcapacity and Overfishing: A refresher on key conceptual frameworks

About the Event  

The WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé reaffirmed members’ commitment to conclude negotiations on additional disciplines on fisheries subsidies. These further rules are essential to ensure the existing WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies effectively addresses the role subsidies play in driving overcapacity, overfishing, and the depletion of marine resources around the world. 

As members return to the negotiating table, this webinar helped them understand how subsidies can lead to unsustainable levels of fishing and which forms of support carry the greatest risk of incentivizing excessive fishing pressure. Drawing on key analytical work, this webinar examined how fisheries subsidies contribute to overcapacity and overfishing under different circumstances. 

This was the second in a series designed to complement the thematic sessions held as part of the formal negotiating process. You can watch the first webinar here.  

Panel

Moderator:

• Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD

Speakers:

• Rashid Sumaila, Professor, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia  
• Claire Delpeuch, Head of Unit, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)