Christine McDaniel writes about the dangers of overfishing and its subsidies in The Hill.
- Governments across the globe are subsidizing fishing activities beyond sustainable measures which is leading to resource depletion, overfishing, and damage to marine ecosystems.
- Illegal and unreported fishing activities (which receive subsidies) catch an estimated 26 million tons of fish each year, which accounts for 20 percent of the global catch.
- The World Trade Organization has agreed to significantly curtail some fishing subsidies and limit or prohibit vessels who engage in illegal activities from receiving assistance.
- The agreement, which has to still be finalized, is important for protecting our marine ecosystems and implementing sustainable fishing practices.
“After more than 20 years of negotiations, WTO members finally seem intent on reeling back the subsidies that fund these destructive practices. Last year, negotiators agreed to significantly curtail some fishing subsidies, including limiting or prohibiting them to ‘Vessels or operators engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or fishing-related activities in support of IUU fishing,’ ‘fishing or fishing-related activities regarding stocks that are overfished’ and ‘fishing or fishing-related activities on the unregulated high seas.'”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
