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Fisheries subsidies around the world are a major driver of overfishing. The WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement is seen as a major step towards the Sustainable Development Goals, but it still needs to be ratified by many countries.
This time, we will look at global fisheries subsidies and their impacts, and what efforts China and Japan are making to achieve sustainable fisheries.
(Less than,World Economic Forumof""China and Japan's transformation towards sustainable fishing"(Full text published)
Author
Songlin Wang
Founder and Chairman, Friends of Ocean Action, Qingdao Marine Conservation Society
Kazuo Hanaoka
Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd. President and CEO
Globally, fisheries subsidies amount to US$350 billion per year, of which more than 60% contributes to overfishing.
However, only 40 countries, including China and Japan, have ratified the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, and 69 more countries need to ratify it for it to come into force.
Japan and China can play a role in reversing the trend toward eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies and replacing them with positive public investment.
So-called "harmful fishing" subsidies have long contributed to overfishing and destructive fishing practices around the world. In recent years, global fisheries subsidies totaled more than US$350 billion per year, 60 percent of which was spent on fishing.Harmful andIt is considered to be.
Research shows that these harmful fishing subsidies have global effects.In one surveyOf these, 37% support fishing in international waters and on the high seas. This has negative impacts on marine biodiversity, fair opportunities for small-scale fishers, and food security for coastal fishing communities, while also undermining the ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) unanimously agreed upon by UN Parties in 2015.SDGs Goal 14This will have a serious impact on the achievement of
The World Trade Organization (WTO)'sThe Agreement on Fisheries SubsidiesBased on Target 14 of SDG 6, the Agreement provides multilateral rules to promote the conservation of fisheries resources through the elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies. The Agreement prohibits illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and subsidies for depleted or unmanaged fish stocks. It also aims to address harmful practices such as changing the flag of fishing vessels and introduce new transparency rules.
However, for this lengthy negotiation to come into force, at least two-thirds of WTO member states must formally accept the treaty through their governments. More than 3 countries need to approve it, and so far only the following have officially accepted it:Chugoku(June 2023, 6)Japan(July 2023, 7).
Japan is one of the top five countries in the world that provide fisheries subsidies. Although Japan's fish catch has fallen to about one-third of its peak volume, many people involved in the fishing industry remain heavily dependent on government subsidies.
In this context, over the past decade, the Japanese fishing industry and government have been gradually reviewing ineffective life-prolonging measures while at the same time making internal adjustments at various levels to work together towards ensuring essential environmental sustainability and social responsibility.
As a result, in 2020, the revised Fisheries Law, the first major revision in 70 years, came into effect, and in 2022, Japan's first administrative measure, the Act on the Proper Domestic Distribution of Specified Aquatic Animals and Plants, etc., was enacted to prevent seafood products produced by IUU fishing from entering the domestic market.
Japan's formal ratification of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sends an even stronger message to the global community that Japan is changing its national policy and committing to the sustainability of fisheries and ocean use.
Meanwhile, China has been one of the world's largest fishing nations for 30 years, currently accounting for 15-19% of the world's marine wild fisheries landings. This large-scale wild fishery puts a huge strain on the environment. Four seas around China (the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea) are among the most overfished in the world, with indiscriminate and excessive fishing causing serious impacts on trophic cascades. This domino effect in the marine food chain has led to a significant loss of marine biodiversity.
China's harmful fisheries subsidies are a major factor in creating this situation, as the pursuit of economic profit has pushed China's fishing capacity far beyond ecological sustainability.
However, China's continued strengthening of efforts towards more sustainable fishing over the past decade is a positive sign for change, including a 10% reduction in fuel subsidies to its domestic fishing fleet between 2014 and 2019, and a target to cap its distant-water fishing fleet at 60 vessels by the end of 2020. In parallel with its participation in the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations, China has indicated its intention to ratify the Port State Measures to Prevent Illegal Fishing (PSMA) to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing through strict controls on incoming catches.
Beyond these efforts, there has been growing interest across China in restoring populations of marine giants. In 2020, a long list of whales, dolphins and all sea turtles were designated national first- or second-class protected species – all victims of overfishing and IUU fishing – while new Management Measures of funds for Fisheries Development Subsidies were announced in 2021, aiming to develop high-quality, more sustainable fisheries.
These new measures suggest that fuel subsidies for domestic fisheries may be redirected to support large-scale development of artificial reefs and resource-enhancing activities such as maritime ranching. They also commit to modernizing fishing and aquaculture facilities, building infrastructure, researching and monitoring fisheries resources, and complying with international treaties.
The ratification of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement by Japan and China, the world's largest fishing nations and key players in trade and consumption of seafood, marks a major step forward in restoring balance and rebuilding harmony for fishing communities and oceans around the world. The Agreement will become operational once two-thirds of the WTO's 164 member states have formally signed it. However, to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies and protect oceans, food security and livelihoods, it is essential that all WTO members adopt effective and transparent implementation mechanisms.
To make meaningful changes in major fishing and seafood trade/consumer nations like Japan and China, it is essential to encourage more decisive action by removing negative subsidies, and crucially, to replace current subsidies with positive public investment.
For example, WTO fisheries must take more science-based action to assess whether they target overfished, sustainably fished or underfished stocks. Fisheries are required to publish fleet carrying capacity and landing data by species or species groups, as well as details of subsidized fishing vessels. Conservation and management measures for stocks and critical habitats must be strengthened and their effectiveness evaluated, with more stringent deadlines for their implementation publicly.
It is crucial to ensure that harmful subsidies are not repurposed to support activities ostensibly presented as sustainability measures that in fact undermine important fisheries management reforms. For example, investments in stock enhancement and large-scale artificial reef-based marine ranching need stronger scientific monitoring and research evidence to justify their effectiveness.
"Replacing fuel subsidies with investments in modernization and fishing infrastructure, unless combined with modern monitoring, management, and surveillance measures, could lead to increased fishing capacity and greater exploitation. Moreover, the past portfolio of fisheries subsidies, and many of the more environmentally friendly alternatives, are designed to favor large corporations, leaving small-scale fishers overlooked and marginalized. Some of these harmful subsidies could be better reinvested in small-scale fishing communities seeking a green and just transition to a more sustainable future."
Japan and China share the East China Sea and many fishery resources. Therefore, more active exchanges on domestic fisheries science and management/conservation measures would be beneficial for both countries. Japan could be an example on how to organize and engage traditional small-scale fishing communities to strengthen both coastal ecosystem health and social equity. Japan and China could actively exchange information and ideas on fisheries science and sustainable management/conservation measures for pelagic fisheries within and outside of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).
As major trading consumers of seafood, Japan and China can play a key role in supporting the global implementation of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement and are in a position to lead the global community towards more sustainable consumption patterns by preventing seafood products with harmful subsidies prohibited by the WTO Agreement from entering the market.
By working together, we can eliminate harmful fishing subsidies that undermine the health of our oceans and the well-being of the fish, fishers and people involved in fishing for Japan, China and the world we share this blue planet.
The World Economic Forum's Ocean Action AgendaFriends of Ocean Actionis a diverse community of global leaders driving rapid solutions to restore ocean health.
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