Can’t agree to unfair text on fisheries deal: Goyal
On the third day of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’S) 12th ministerial conference in Geneva, India vehemently opposed a proposed global deal to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies, as the plan did not provide a level playing field to developing nations.
India wants to protect subsidies of several million lowincome, poor traditional fishermen as it is a matter of livelihood for them.
Calling the text ‘imbalanced’, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said unlike other advanced fishing nations, India doesn’t operate huge fishing fleets to exploit the resources indiscriminately.
Besides, subsidies provided to fishers in India are one of the lowest — to the tune of $15/year for every fisher family in a year, in contrast to rich countries that pay as much as $42,000, $65,000, and $75,000 to one fisherman family. India is also not engaged in distant water-fishing–practice where fleets operate outside the country’s own exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
India wants advanced fishing nations to take larger responsibility for the sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources.
“Several advanced fishing nations are indiscriminately exploiting the fisheries resources in others’ EEZ and the high seas by being members of multiple RFMOS (regional fisheries management organisations). India has argued in the past that such nations shall own the responsibility for the damage they have caused to the global fisheries wealth and should bring them under a tougher discipline regime. Still, to our distress, the present text does not stop such over-exploitation; instead, it indiscreetly allows such practices indefinitely,” Goyal said at MC12.
“Incidentally, I see a lot of countries very concerned about their fishermen. But what is the number of fishermen? One may have 1,500 fishermen, another may have 11,000...The concern of the small number of fishermen prevails over the livelihood of nine million fishermen in India. This is completely unacceptable! And that is the reason, India is opposed to the current text, also opposed to the way de minimis is sought to be institutionalised,” Goyal said.
WTO has been wanting to build a consensus on the agreement on a 21-year-old issue that aims to eliminate subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and promote sustainable fishing. The deal needs the consensus of 164 WTO member nations.