Portrait of Director-General of the WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at Parliament House in Canberra on ... [+]
Despite the tireless work ethic of Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was unable to close a deal on environmentally and economically harmful fisheries subsidies at its 2024 Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi. But, on the bright side, there is a quorum of countries that want to move forward. A plurilateral deal could be a bridge to the multilateral deal that the WTO leadership wants. Recent research suggests that pursuing a plurilateral deal could still make a significant dent in the problem.
Over 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted. Despite numerous efforts, WTO negotiators have not been able to get enough members to agree on limiting the influence of fishing subsidies. As of late last month, only about 70 WTO members had formally accepted, with two-thirds necessary for the agreement to enter into force. (With 166 members now, that works out to about 110 or 111.) Reaching that threshold looks unlikely, but those 70 countries (and more) should consider a plurilateral agreement.
Government subsidies fund bigger boats and bigger gear. Rigged-out fishing vessels go to the high seas and cast supersized nets and outsized and high-tech destructive trawling gear. Those trawlers pull up their main catch but also a lot of bycatch, depleting fish stocks and leaving environmental devastation behind.
The United States Geological Survey has a coastal and marine hazards and resource program. Those analysts have long been aware of the consequences of bottom trawling. In a 2016 article titled “What a Drag: The Global Impact of Bottom Trawling,” the geologists explain how trawling destroys the natural seafloor habitat by rototilling the seabed over and over. “A farmer would never plow his land again and again during a rainstorm, watching all of his topsoil be washed away,” said geological oceanographer Ferdinand Oberle.
Then there’s a Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) report examining the impacts of full and partial cooperation on “illegal, unreported and unregulated” (IUU) fishing activities and the overall health of fisheries. Their analysis suggests that even partial cooperation on information sharing, enforcement and fines can make a big difference.
Three of their findings are important to understanding the value of a plurilateral deal:
First, information sharing across countries can result in a 40-percentage point reduction in the share of illegally caught fish. Even partial information sharing (where only some countries share information and others don’t) can result in a 30-percentage point reduction. Dynamic effects play a role here: Over time, information sharing leads to higher visibility of bad actors, and with enforcement mechanisms in place, it can substantially reduce the profitability of IUU fishing activities.
Second, the researchers find that information sharing leads to healthier fish populations and better biomass. Ocean biomass—essentially the total weight of plants, fish and marine life—is 55% higher with full information sharing and 43% higher even with just partial information sharing. That increase in biomass, over time, helps to boost the economic viability of honest fishers and the coastal communities that rely on them, and can prevent the ever-increasing effort-to-catch ratio that plagues more and more coastal nations.
Third, enforcement mechanisms including fines for bad actors are essential. The larger the fine, the greater the disincentive for IUU fishing. The authors find substantial dynamic effects even if just some of the participants have a draconian fine.
As the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s “Sustainability Toolkit for Trade Negotiators” makes clear, the WTO’s founding document, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, contains exceptions allowing for such environmental measures. Policy space for environmental regulations is provided under Article XX(b) and XX(g), as well as Article XIV of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (another governing document), and Article XXIII of the plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement Act.
If enough countries share information and commit to enforcement mechanisms, then over time the profitability and prevalence of IUU fishing will decline.
The lack of outcomes in Abu Dhabi shows just how difficult it is to reach agreement these days. But in the case of global IUU fishing, not all countries have to agree to the same exact rules and provisions in order to turn things around. The WTO members that have already agreed to act on harmful fisheries subsidies can pursue a plurilateral and prevent further depletion of global fisheries stocks.
