A fisheries subsidy is a government action that confers an advantage on

consumers A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

or extractors of fish in order to supplement their income or lower their cost. Fisheries subsidy are addressed in

sustainable development goal 14 Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Goal 14 or SDG 14) is about "Life below water" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is to "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas ...

where target 14.6 works on prohibiting subsidies contributing to overcapacity and over fishing, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from new such subsidies.

Extent

The estimates on the global amounts of

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

subsidies vary and range from US$15–35 billion annually. The range of estimates is partially due to fact that fisheries subsidies come in many shapes and forms. Fisheries subsidies include direct transfers of funds, income or price support measures, tax credits, exemptions and rebates, low-interest loans and guarantees, preferential treatment and use of regulatory support mechanisms. Not all estimates include government funding for fisheries management, such data collection and control and enforcement, or the possible absence of access fees. An open letter by scientists found that as of 2021 harmful fisheries subsidies have increased globally and asks the

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

to eliminate such subsidies.

Impacts

It is acknowledged that some forms of fisheries subsidies can threaten the sustainability of fisheries resources by encouraging

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

overcapacity Capacity utilization or capacity utilisation is the extent to which a firm or nation employs its installed productive capacity. It is the relationship between output that ''is'' produced with the installed equipment, and the potential output whi ...

and excess

fishing effort A fishery is an area with an associated fish or aquatic population which is harvested for its commercial or recreational value. Fisheries can be wild or farmed. Population dynamics describes the ways in which a given population grows and shrinks o ...

. Therefore, reducing the long-term viability of the fishing industries which are estimated to generate US$ 50 billion less per year than they could as a result of subsidies, while others are considered beneficial, promoting conservations and sustainable fisheries management. States committed at the 2002

World Summit on Sustainable Development The World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, took place in South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss ustainable developmentorganizations, 10 years after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (It was the ...

(WSSD) to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing and overcapacity. Also, parties to the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

agreed to strengthen disciplines on fisheries subsidies, including through a prohibition of certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.WTO (2005) Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, Annex D paragraph 9.

Society and culture

Global goals

The United Nations' framework for

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

includes targets to end subsidies that contribute to overfishing within Goal 14, Life Below Water.United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
A/RES/71/313

References

{{reflist

External links

Fishsubsidy.org - Who gets what from the EU common fisheries policy
Agricultural subsidies Fishing industry