India To Bat For Special Treatment For Poor Fishermen At WTO

Ahead of the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi, starting Feb. 26, India is pitching a carve-out for its poor fishermen as part of the ongoing negotiations, according to two officials with knowledge of the matter.

India, among the 164 member nations of the trade body, is currently participating in the fisheries subsidy negotiations in the run-up to the ministerial meet.

The WTO had adopted an agreement on fisheries subsidies in the 12th Ministerial Conference on June 17, 2022. However, for the agreement to become operational, two-third members have to endorse it in four years. The agreement looks at prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies, which according to the WTO site, are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks.

According to the first official quoted above, who spoke on condition of anonymity, 55 countries have endorsed the agreement so far and 27 of them are European. India, though, is not among the 55. The country had rejected the text on fisheries subsidy negotiations after MC12.

"India would strongly urge that Distant Water Fishing Nations should be subject to a moratorium on giving any kind of subsidies for 25 years for fishing or fishing-related activities beyond their EEZ (exclusive economic zones). It is essential that they transfer these capacities to the developing countries and least-developed countries to give them a chance to grow," India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said in Geneva in 2022.

Presently, India has expressed its reservations against a list-based subsidies approach and has called for a more stringent provision against countries that have historically exploited ocean resources, carrying forward its ongoing demand for a moratorium.

India is also proposing for a 25-year moratorium on distant water fishing nations, that have historically exploited resources, the second official quoted above said. The moratorium will encourage such nations to stop providing subsidies, the person said. Distant Water Fishing would include any country fishing beyond its immediate regional fisheries management organisations.

Countries like Norway, the European Union, China, U.S., Japan and South Korea were among the ones named as engaging in distant water fishing.

India is pushing for a special and differential treatment for poor fishermen.

India is demanding a complete carve out for the poor fishermen, the second official said. Secondly, it also wants a complete carve-out for the EEZ to provide subsidies. There shouldn’t be any discipline within our EEZ for providing subsidies, the person said.

Thirdly, in a particular RFMO, India is seeking a longer transition period, during which the country should be allowed to provide subsidies, according to the official.

The country wants a carve-out so that resource-poor and poor-livelihood fishermen should be treated the same way as the more established fishing units, the first person said.