United Nations Environment Programme
Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics
Economics and Trade Branch
Fisheries technical and policy papers

Fisheries Subsidies, Sustainable Development and the WTO (2010)

This comprehensive resource manual provides a historic overview, synthesis and analysis of key issues regarding fisheries subsidies reform and the current development of fisheries subsidies negotiations at the WTO. The book presents country experiences from Ecuador, Norway and Senegal illustrating the impact of subsidies and reform processes. Accompanying the manual is a CD-ROM containing relevant source material from other organisations for further reading.

 

UNEP publication entitled "Certification and Sustainable Fisheries" (2009)

Certification and eco-labelling have gained significant momentum during the past years. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of fisheries certification schemes for all actors involved - from the fisherman to the retailers.

Can the increased use of certification of fisheries products contribute to halting the rapid decline of the world’s fish stocks? This is a question crucial for both conscious consumers and producers. It is often suggested that fisheries worldwide would benefit from improved management potentially gained through certification. There are, however, a number of challenges involved, such as the high initial costs of getting certified and overcoming the lack of data for small-scale fisheries. Retailers, on the other hand, would benefit from secured supply in the long-term, but need create long-term demand for their products.

In addition to providing a comprehensive review of several certification schemes and discussing the obstacles, this publication introduces the sourcing policies of a wide range of retailer chains related to certification and addresses the question why not more fisheries are certified. It also points to possible approaches for increasing certification in developing countries and provides recommendations for future UNEP activities with regard to fisheries certification and eco-labelling.

One page overview



Role of supply chains in addressing the global seafood crisis (2008)

This publication provides guidance to the various stakeholders in the fisheries sector on the tools and actions necessary to address the challenges contributing to the global seafood crisis. The document reviews the complexities surrounding the current decline, and in some cases collapse, of global fish stocks. It promotes the need for a multifaceted approach to overcome the current challenges necessary to facilitate enhanced sustainability within the sector. It outlines the role various stakeholders play in addressing the key issues and impacts and highlights the importance of certification schemes, business to business relations, responsible investments and private/ public partnerships in collective action within supply chains to address the current crisis. The recommendations presented in this publication are the result of an extensive review and analysis of current initiatives, research, expert interviews and case studies in the fisheries sector and its associated supply chains.

 
Towards Sustainable Fisheries Access Agreements - Issues and Options at the World Trade Organization (2008)
Fisheries access agreements are a form of trade between a country with rich fishing grounds, often from the developing world, and a Distant Water Fishing Nation. Access rights, allowing the Distant Water Fishing Nation to fish in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the selling country, are mostly traded against a financial compensation. Access agreements have come under international scrutiny as a result of their negative impacts both on fisheries resources, including associated ecosystems, and on international markets. The frequent lack of transparency surrounding fishing agreements exacerbates these impacts.

Disciplining subsidies related to access agreements is a major current opportunity at the international level to ensure that access agreements do not jeopardise but contribute to the sustainable development of host developing countries. However, the treatment of "access-related" subsidies has emerged as a sensitive topic within fisheries subsidies negotiations at the World Trade Organization - mainly due to the high dependency of many small island and coastal developing countries on access fees. This paper aims to support ongoing WTO negotiations by, firstly, analysing the legal framework governing access agreements and, secondly, exploring options for improved disciplines on "access-related" fisheries subsidies.

Inappropriate subsidies contribute to widespread overfishing and to the distortion of trade in fisheries products. Current negotiations in the World Trade organization aim to address this problem through binding new subsidies rules. Meanwhile, many governments are working to reform their domestic fisheries subsidies programmes. But some fisheries subsidies will undoubtedly continue to be used for years to come. In this context, a knowledge of the policies and practices that can reduce the risks associated with these subsidies is critically important. This paper seeks to develop “sustainability criteria” for fisheries subsidies to guide both WTO negotiators and domestic policymakers. By examining issues related to the health of fish stocks, the capacity of fishing fleets, and the adequacy of fisheries management regimes, the paper proposes a series of basic tests whose application may allow the risks of fisheries subsidies to be reduced. The aim is to demonstrate that sustainability criteria for fisheries subsidies can be plausible, solidly rooted in accepted international norms, and tailored for use in the WTO as well as in the broader context of national practices.

Artisanal Fishing: Promoting Poverty Reduction and Community Development Through New WTO Rules on Fisheries Subsidies
An Option and Issues Paper

This paper (2005) deals with the question of how the protection of the artisanal fisheries sector can or should be translated into practice within the new WTO rules. In particular, the paper turns to a definitional debate of “artisanal fishing” and explores the difficulties associated with finding such a ready-made definition. It attempts to tease apart the “why” and “how” of fishery subsidies and endeavours to identify the limits attached to substantive and procedural conditions of such a subsidy regime. As such, the paper is set to stimulate and aid discussion among governments and other stakeholders in a need to adopt an approach that maximises incentives for truly sustainable development.

Reflecting Sustainable Development and Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries in the Context of New WTO Fisheries Subsidies Rules
An Option and Issues Paper
This paper (2005) concerns the role that fisheries subsidies play in the economic and social context of developing countries and aims to establish a factual foundation for designing a fisheries subsidies Special and Differential (S&D) Treatment framework that takes into account developing countries' needs and concerns. In this way, the paper discusses the relevance of fisheries subsidies to developing countries and identifies possible approaches to how to make S&D treatment both operational and inclusive of sustainable development considerations in the context of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations.

Analyzing the Resource Impact of Fisheries Subsidies: A Matrix Approach
This publication (2004) builds on earlier UNEP work that developed a matrix as an analytical framework for assessing the impact of subsidies. Using this framework, the study offers a detailed assessment of the impact of eight categories of subsidies taking into account the specific characteristics of a fishery, including its level of exploitation and its management regime.

Incorporating Resource Impact into Fisheries Subsidies Disciplines: Issues and Options – A Discussion Paper
This discussion paper (2004) considers the potential implications of the conclusions drawn in the “Matrix Paper” for an international reform of subsidies. With the aim of stimulating dialogue, it offers one view of several possible options for incorporating the impact on resources into existing and new WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies.


Volume 1: Fisheries Subsidies and Overfishing: Towards a Structured Discussion
This paper (2003) aims to help meet the need for further analysis on the interaction between subsidies, over-capacity and overfishing, to guide progress towards a potential reform of fisheries policies worldwide. It creates a better understanding, quantification and classification of the economic, environmental, and related social effects of subsidies to the fisheries sector, and explores a variety of approaches to develop policy reforms for the sustainable management of fisheries.


A UNEP Update on Fisheries Subsidies and Sustainable Fisheries Management