The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies has been formally accepted by the European Union on behalf of its 27 member states.

The EU’s acceptance, made official on 8 June 2023 (World Oceans Day), brings the agreement closer to entry into force and to delivering on Target 14.6 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to the European Commission, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is crucial for ensuring that fisheries subsidies take sustainability as their core objective and avoid harming the ocean and fish stocks on which the livelihoods of coastal communities around the world depend.

“The EU played a pivotal role in spearheading this landmark WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which will turn the tide on harmful practices such as illegal fishing,” EU Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said. “I am very proud that we are among the first to accept the first ever multilateral trade agreement to focus on sustainability, which will help to restore fish stocks across the world. It is proof that the WTO can deliver solutions for today’s sustainability challenges and that, as we proceed with WTO reform, it provides a good basis from which to tackle other global challenges.”

This agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of the 164 WTO members have completed their domestic ratification processes. The EU’s acceptance brings the number of WTO members who had accepted the agreement to 34.

The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, the first multilateral trade agreement focusing on sustainability, was concluded at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022 and includes:

• A prohibition of government subsidies to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing
• A prohibition of subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas
• A prohibition of subsidies regarding the most vulnerable stocks
• Provisions addressing the harmful practice of reflagging fishing vessels to other jurisdictions
• Extensive transparency and notification provisions to monitor the implementation of the agreement

EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius commented, “This year, the EU is celebrating World Oceans Day by formally accepting the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The agreement is a crucial step towards ensuring that fisheries subsidies – not only in the EU, but also globally – have sustainability as their core objective. This will help conserve fish stocks that are vital to global food security and the livelihoods of coastal communities. Along with initiatives such as the United Nations’ High Seas Treaty, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is another major step towards saving our ocean, to which the EU greatly contributes.”