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August 28, 2021
Unity statement of participants in the webinar “New Waves of Plunder: On the WTO Negotiations on Fishing Subsidies” held 20 July 2021.
Global fisheries and, by extension, its subsidies are not merely trade issues but of people’s rights, ecosystems, food security, sovereignty, and development.
We, the small fisherfolk organizations of the Global South and advocates, reject the current negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on global fisheries subsidies in both process and substance. It is clear that the trajectory of the WTO discussions poses a threat to the people’s rights to livelihood, food, and the right over their resources and sovereignty.
The 20-year negotiation on harmful fisheries subsidies in the WTO has only served to stall any potential meaningful reform and cover-up for oceangrabbers and plunderers. Without holding big subsidizers and fishing monopolies accountable, WTO’s claim to work for ocean conservation and equal opportunity holds no water, so to speak.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of small-scale fisherfolk and fishworkers remain poor and neglected despite providing a vital force for national food security. Despite this, more than 80% of subsidies go to large fleets which fish for export.
In addition, the current paradigm on addressing Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF) unfairly burdens small fishers at best and is used to phase them out at worst[1].
Given its history as an instrument of the monopoly capitalist agenda, we have no illusion that the WTO negotiations will yield pro-people reforms in global fisheries.
The current global fisheries regime is reflective of the unjust, inequitable, and unsustainable food system.
It is one of colonial plunder. Fishing vessels flagged from 5 wealthy countries[2] alone account for 87% of high seas fishing globally. The relentless and subsidized race for profit between these countries has led to the stock collapse and overfishing in pelagic and migratory fishes.
In addition, the remaining 48% of the oceans and seas or national waters are pillaged by vessels from the same wealthy countries. In fact, China, Taiwan, and South Korea alone account for a whopping 63% of fishing efforts in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of developing countries[3].
Furthermore, the export-oriented production of fish, as designed by WTO rules and its enabling institutions, has led to it being one of the most traded commodities globally. The majority of these are from developing countries despite the fact that, for some, up to 80%[4] of their population depends on fish as their main source of protein. In coastal communities, access to fish can spell the difference between normal and stunted growth in children.
The ever-increasing demand from the European Union, United States, Japan, the 3 biggest fish importers, and other wealthy nation-States have put a strain on developing countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs), oceans, and food security.
As these well-oiled fleets push small fishers closer to the shore, the falling catch of artisanal fishing can plunge 850 million people more into hunger[5].
A global concerted effort in pivoting the state of our seas and the fisheries sector is an urgent need. Especially for small island states and developing countries of the Global South, fisheries play a vital role in ending hunger and poverty, promoting food sovereignty, and addressing climate change.
It should be recognized that small-scale, artisanal, and traditional fisherfolk, despite poverty and lack of support, continue to feed the Global South sustainably.
A people-powered and sustainable fisheries and aquatic resource development paradigm should be adopted. Pivoting towards just, equitable, healthy, and sustainable food systems require policies that put people’s rights, justice, and the planet at the center and not profit.
In particular, we demand that policymakers and duty bearers:
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[1] Song, Andrew M.; et al. “Collateral damage? Small-scale fisheries in the global fight against IUU fishing.” Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12462, April 2020.
[2] China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Spain
[3] McCauley, Douglas J.; et al. “Wealthy countries dominate industrial fishing.” Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://labs.eemb.ucsb.edu/mccauley/doug/publications/McCauley_et_al_2018-Sci_Adv.pdf, August 2018.
[4] World Wide Fund for Nature Report 2016, “Fishing for Proteins: How marine fisheries impact on global food security up to 2050.” https://www.fishforward.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/future_trends_report-EN.pdf, October 2016.
[5] Golden, Christoper; et al. “Nutrition: Fall in fish catch threatens human health.” Nature.com. https://www.nature.com/articles/534317a, June 2016.