India has made a strong pitch at the WTO for more effective carveouts for small-scale and artisanal fishers to protect their livelihood subsidies and has rejected the draft text circulated by the chair of the WTO negotiations on curbing overcapacity and overfishing (OCOF) subsidies arguing that the special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions for its fishing communities needed to be stronger.

Responding to intense activities at the WTO to have an agreement on additional provisions on fisheries subsidies as soon as possible without waiting for the WTO Ministerial Conference held once in two years, New Delhi has also made submissions against allowing large-scale industrial fishing nations the flexibility to perpetuate their unsustainable subsidies and “unfair burdening” of developing nations.

“India is not ready to be hurried into an agreement that does not give adequate protection to subsidies extended to nine million fishing families, mostly comprising small-scale fishers. It has made submissions on improving SDT provision granting greater flexibility to protect its fishers as well as tightening disciplines to check the perpetuation of unsustainable subsidies given by industrial-fishing nations,” a source tracking the matter said.

Exemption from OCOF subsidy cuts

It also wants complete exemption from OCOF subsidy cuts should be extended to all fishers from developing countries for fishing in the EEZ area (up to 200 nautical miles from the shore) considering that they have already committed to strict regulations and limited SDT under the more harmful overfished subsidy pillar.

In 2022, WTO members already signed an agreement to prohibit subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as subsidies for fishing overfished stocks and fishing in the unregulated high seas, but the scope of the current negotiations on OCOF subsidies is much larger and could hit small fishers much more.

Earlier this week, the chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations circulated a draft text on curbing subsidies to fishing or fishing related activities that contribute to overcapacity or overfishing (OCOF). 

“It is important for India, with over 9 million fishing families to gain workable exemptions for its small-scale fishers as these curbs would apply on several subsidy programmes given by the government,” the source said.

Subsidies in question

The subsidies identified for prohibition include those pertaining to construction, acquisition and modernisation of vessels; purchase of fishing gear and related machinery; fuel, ice or bait, insurance and income support during seasonal closures.

In its submission to the Negotiating Group on Rules of the WTO, India pointed out that while the chair’s text has removed geographical limits for SDT for small-scale fishers, it continues to be characterised by strict conditions and stringent notification requirements.

Moreover, there are a “host of undefined and irrational conditionalities” in relation to the definition of ‘small-scale and artisanal fishing or fishing related activities that are primarily low income, resource-poor or providing livelihood in nature’. “This has the effect of limiting the policy space of developing country members to determine SSF based on local contexts and realities,” it stated.

Global fishing subsidies are estimated at $35.4 billion, according to a 2019 study. While China, the EU, the United States, South Korea and Japan are among the top subsidisers. India’s subsidies are relatively small estimated annually at less than $15 per fisher.

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