Fishery subsidies: the interaction between science and policy

Abstract

Fisheries subsidies have attracted considerable attention worldwide since the 1990s. The World Trade Organization (WTO), among others, started to strengthen its disciplines in fisheries subsidies in 2001. The academic study of fisheries subsidies can play a key role in contributing to policy-making processes such as WTO negotiations by providing more accurate information on the link between subsidies and overfishing. This paper aims to review the existing academic literature and discuss the role of academic studies in the process of designing and implementing policies on fisheries subsidies. Academic studies on fishery subsides can be divided into three branches: descriptive, theoretical, and empirical. Overall, there has been significant progress in empirical studies on fishery subsidies during the last decade. While the number of studies is still limited, they generate insights that are consistent with theoretical predictions. As for potential contributions of academic studies to actual policies and sustainable management, more interaction between academic experts and policy makers is desirable.

Global subsiding as a way to sustainable fishery

“…During the latest and comprehensive research of subsidies to fishery, the international group of scientists have revealed that 35 billion dollars of the USA public funds were spent on fishery subsidies in 2020. 22 billions of them were classified as harmful, because they were directed to increase the capacity of catch, not to increase potential and competitiveness of the fish industry, which is undoubtable an alarming tendency [11].…”

“…The conducted theoretical generalization of data, which is presented in [2,3,11,12] has allowed us to group global subsidies into 12 categories, which include management, researches, construction and technological works, fleet modernization, development projects, ports and berths, marketing and storage of products, tax incentives, access to fish resources, fuel subsidies , support of fishermen , redemption of ships and assisting to fishing farms (Picture 1). During the research we have revealed, that subsidies, which increase power, prevails those, which increase benefits from activity, and ambiguous subsidies.…”

Mapping the unjust global impact of harmful fisheries subsidies

“…In addition, there is a net ow of harmful subsidies originating from countries with stronger sheries management capacity and relatively sustainable sh stocks, towards countries with lower sheries management capacity and relatively poor status sh stocks (Figure 3). This phenomenon is critical because having limited sheries management and enforcement capabilities results in a lack of regulation and control that might otherwise mitigate the impact of harmful subsidies 12 . Similarly, as the greatest threat from harmful subsidies is the heightened risk of over shing, sh stocks with relatively poor stock status are at the greatest risk.…”

“…Subsequently, more comprehensive estimates of the extent and impact of this practice cemented sheries subsidies as a key concern for the conservation and management of marine ecosystems 1,9 and, more recently, for supporting equitable use of marine resources 5,10 . Consequently, sheries subsidies reform is widely regarded as a necessary step towards safeguarding our ocean and the people that rely upon it [11][12][13] . Concerted efforts to achieve such reform, however, have continued, unsuccessfully, for more than twenty years.…”

Stable Seas: Bay of Bengal

“…India, like many countries across the globe, provides subsidies for its national fishing fleet. An estimated $35 billion 261 is spent on fisheries subsidies globally, which many argue contributes to IUU fishing and overfishing. 262 India provides roughly $400 million in subsidies annually to the fishing industry, 83 percent of which goes to industrial trawlers.…”