Global support tips in favour of ending subsidies

The end of fisheries subsidies

Among four countries to deposit their instruments of acceptance this week, Kenya helped tip the scale to see the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to enter into force.

Kenya joins 22 other African countries in the charge to address the impact of subsidies that are seen to contribute to overfishing as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated (ISSU) fishing. The Agreement also aims to curtail the introduction of new subsidies.

The instruments of acceptance of the Agreement from Brazil, Kenya, Viet Nam, and Tonga, received by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on 15 September, helped bring the number to meet the two-thirds threshold.

In her remarks to the WTO membership, Okonjo-Iweala underscored that the Agreement “sends a powerful signal that WTO members can work together in a spirit of cooperation and shared responsibility to deliver solutions to global challenges.” She said its entry into force serves as “a reminder that many of the biggest challenges we face are more effectively addressed at the multilateral level,” through “a multilateralism that delivers.”

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a press release in February this year highlighting that nearly two-thirds of fisheries support in 41 countries and territories risks encouraging overfishing and illegal fishing in the absence of effective fisheries management.

The OECD Review of Fisheries 2025 spotlights China, Japan, the United States of America, Canada, Brazil and a combination of European Union member states as being responsible for 85% of global government spending to that supports national fisheries sectors. All of these WTO member countries have deposited their instruments of acceptance and will be subject to the Agreement.

“Better targeted fisheries support and better management are essential to improving the profitability and resilience of the sector,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, urging countries to find more sustainable solutions.

The OECD’s review calls for redirecting funds currently allocated to subsidising fuel and the construction, acquisition and operation of vessels towards activities that are key to ensuring the sustainability of global fisheries. These activities include research on assessing the status of fish stocks, enforcing fishing laws and regulations and targeted time-bound income support for fishers affected by crises like such as marine heatwaves. 

Redirecting government support to investment in effective management and monitoring can also be a powerful tool to eradicate illegal fishing, which undermines the resilience of the sector, fishers’ wellbeing, the marine environment, fair competition in markets and tax revenue.

Successful implementation required

Countries now have until the 9 October 2025 to submit proposals for grants to implement the agreement from the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism Trust Fund which already has funds of over US$ 18 million available thanks to donations from 17 members.

Developing and LDC members that have ratified the Agreement are eligible to submit proposals for technical assistance and capacity-building activities to support their implementation of the Agreement. These fall into two categories: project preparation grants of up to US$ 50,000 for activities such as studies and needs assessments to prepare for implementation of the Agreement, and project grants of up to US$ 300,000 for specific projects to implement the Agreement.

“Delivering this support is essential to realising the Agreement's benefits for people, oceans, and the planet. This Call for Proposals represents a first but significant step towards turning the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into lasting, transformative change for livelihoods and marine fisheries. I am deeply grateful to our current and future donors to the Fish Fund,” said Okonjo-Iweala.

African countries that have accepted the agreement:

⚑ Benin
⚑ Botswana
⚑ Cameroon
⚑ Chad
⚑ Comoros
⚑ Cote d’Ivoire
⚑ Democratic Republic of Congo
⚑ Gabon
⚑ Gambia
⚑ Ghana
⚑ Kenya
⚑ Lesotho
⚑ Malawi
⚑ Mauritius
⚑ Nigeria
⚑ Rwanda
⚑ Senegal
⚑ Seychelles
⚑ Sierra Leone
⚑ South Africa
⚑ Togo
⚑ Zambia

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