Effort to reduce pressure on global fish stocks

In an effort to put an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which costs Africa more than US$2,3 billion (about R43 billion) in economic losses every year, the South African Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition recently approved the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) agreement on the ratification of fisheries subsidies.

This is the WTO’s first agreement that focuses on environmental sustainability. It establishes a set of binding prohibitions and rules that seek to ensure that the support provided by governments to their fishing sector does not undermine the sustainability of marine resources.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition briefed the portfolio committee on the deal and sought approval to ratify the completed first phase, as recommended by Cabinet.

Committee chairperson Judy Hermans said implementing the agreement would reduce pressure on global fish stocks and allow South Africa to meet the UN’s sustainable development goal of prohibiting and eliminating certain forms of fisheries subsidies, including those that contributed to IUU fishing.

“Such fishing costs Africa over US$2,3 billion in economic losses every year, according to estimates from the African Union Commission.”

The agreement would contribute to environmental sustainability provisions in government’s National Development Plan, in particular sustaining South Africa’s marine ecosystem. “Furthermore, the sustainable management of global fisheries and fish stocks is in South Africa’s interests, in particular, the interests of communities dependent on this resource for their livelihood.”

According to the presentation, the first phase of the agreement was adopted by consensus at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva in June 2022.

“It sets new binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful fishing subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks. The agreement recognises and provides for special and differential treatment to address the needs of developing and least-developed countries, albeit in the form of transitional periods.

“The agreement also establishes a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building to help signatory countries implement the obligations. It further prohibits support for IUU fishing and bans support for fishing overfished stocks, as well as subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas,” the presentation states.

Hermans said negotiations on the more contentious issues relating to overfishing and overcapacity would continue in the second phase. “This phase of negotiations will focus on delivering a comprehensive agreement at the 13th Ministerial Conference, which will continue this month [February] in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Such recommendations will cover additional provisions that will address overcapacity and overfishing and are necessary to comply with the mandate of the United Nations SDG 14.6.”

The completed first phase of the agreement was a tool for better fisheries management that would strengthen South African and global sustainable fisheries management systems through transparency requirements. It would also provide a way to improve data collection on the stock status of vulnerable fisheries and on related subsidies.

Vulnerable groups, such as coastal communities and small-scale fishers, who relied heavily on fish as a protein source, would benefit, as the ratification of the first phase of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement provides a basis to contribute towards the livelihoods of such communities.

Hermans said the committee considered the agreement, adopted the draft report and recommended that the National Assembly approves the agreement. –