New fisheries subsidy text favours developed nations

On Monday, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, who is the chair of the negotiating group on rules, introduced  a draft text for clause-by-clause negotations aimed at reducing global fisheries subsidies has subdued India’s proposal to curb such sops. According to Ambassador Wills, the aim of this text is to collectively evolve the draft text ideally into a completely clean text or at least as clean as possible, with only one or two issues left for ministers to decide during the 12th ministerial conference. The new fisheries subsidy text also lacks an appropriate time-frame for transition, in sync with demands of countries like India. This has left many developing nations disappointed as it seems to offer greater leeway to advanced fishing nations, primarily responsible for the depletion of global fish stocks, to more or less preserve their dole-out status.

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India and other developing nations are likely to oppose any move to end subsidies for fishermen in developing countries immediately or within a very short time-frame. India supports the notion of a 25-year exemption from over-fishing subsidy prohibition for developing countries that are not engaged in distant-water fishing. It is also in favour of big subsidizers abolishing their dole-outs for fishing in areas beyond their exclusive economic zones (200 nautical miles) within these 25 years, which will then set the stage for developing nations to follow suit. New Delhi believes in the principles of “polluter pays” and “common but differentiated responsibilities”.

Estimates suggest that subsidies amounting to US$ 14 billion to US$ 54 billion per annum globally and extended mostly by large fishing nations, have contributed to over-exploitation of the world’s fish stocks. India’s annual fishery subsidy come to about Rs 770-1,000 crore and granted mostly on things like fuel and boats.