WWF has applauded an initiative by a dozen countries to freeze subsidies that encourage overfishing and the overcapacity of fishing fleets. It hopes the initiative will spur other governments into action over the issue.
At the ninth World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Indonesia ministers announced that after more than a decade of talks Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines and the United States, will back the initiative.
The countries, known collectively as the “Friends of Fish” are calling for swift completion of talks to adopt new WTO guidelines banning these so called harmful fisheries subsidies.
“It is hard to understand why all governments do not make the same pledge. With so many fisheries already pushed past sustainable limits and with a billion people depending on fish for their food security, subsidies that deplete stocks are a form of madness,” said John Tanzer, global marine programme director, WWF.
At a side event jointly convened by WWF and the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Gellwynn Jusuf, Director General of Capture Fisheries, said that the guidelines have already been launched for public consultation.
Dr Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia, said at the event. “The new Indonesian national guidelines are an important step in the right direction.”
WWF says that experts estimate that fishing subsidies equivalent to tens of billions of dollars are still used annually in the fisheries sector without attention to their impacts on sustainability.
