India joins WTO's agreement on fisheries subsidies
India formally deposited its instrument of acceptance for the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
The Agreement prohibits government subsidies that support illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the fishing of already-overfished stocks
It also disciplines subsidies that fund fishing on the unregulated high seas, while carving out protection for small-scale and artisanal fishing communities
India's aquaculture (fish farming) sector remains outside the Agreement's scope, since the disciplines apply only to subsidies for marine capture fisheries
WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (2022)
The Agreement was adopted by consensus at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva on 17 June 2022. It is the first WTO agreement whose primary focus is environmental sustainability, and only the second standalone multilateral agreement concluded at the WTO since its establishment in 1995 — the first being the Trade Facilitation Agreement (2013). It entered into force on 15 September 2025, after two-thirds of the WTO's 166 members (111 members) deposited their instruments of acceptance, crossing the threshold required under the WTO's amendment procedure.
Key Details
- Adopted: 17 June 2022 (MC12, Geneva); entered into force: 15 September 2025
- Three core prohibitions: (i) subsidies to IUU fishing, (ii) subsidies to fishing of overfished stocks, (iii) subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas
- Members must notify an annual list of vessels/operators engaged in IUU fishing to the WTO
- A second, more contentious set of disciplines — covering subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing generally — remains under negotiation ("Fish 2" talks) and is not yet part of the binding text
India's acceptance brings it formally under these disciplines, aligning its fisheries subsidy regime with the multilateral framework while it continues to negotiate for stronger protections in the pending "Fish 2" round.
Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for Developing Countries
Because a blanket ban on fisheries subsidies would disproportionately hurt developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) with large populations dependent on small-scale fishing, the Agreement builds in S&DT flexibilities. Developing-country and LDC members may continue subsidies for "low income, resource-poor and livelihood" fishing and related activities within 12 nautical miles of their territorial sea baselines, exempt from the ban on subsidizing overfished stocks for a transition period.
Key Details
- Developing/LDC members get a temporary exemption (originally proposed as 2 years from entry into force, extendable by the WTO's Committee on Fisheries Subsidies) for low-income, resource-poor, livelihood fishing within 12 nautical miles of baselines
- India, during negotiations, pushed for a much longer 25-year transition period for developing countries, citing food security and livelihood concerns, against the 5–7 years favoured by developed members — the shorter timelines were what got written into the final text
- A WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism was established to help developing countries and LDCs implement the Agreement's requirements
- Domestic fisher organisations in India had flagged concerns that even the negotiated S&DT window is too short for the country's small-scale/artisanal fishing sector to adapt
India's formal acceptance is significant precisely because India had been one of the more cautious major fishing nations, holding out over inadequate S&DT terms; its acceptance signals it has decided the built-in flexibilities are workable for now.
Overfishing and Global Fish Stock Status
The Agreement responds to a well-documented crisis in global fish stocks. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the share of marine fish stocks fished within biologically sustainable levels has been declining for decades, while global fisheries subsidies (estimated by economists at over $35 billion annually) are a major driver — with capacity-enhancing subsidies (fuel, gear, vessel-building) contributing most to overcapacity and overfishing.
Key Details
- Capacity-enhancing subsidies (fuel subsidies being the largest category) are the segment the Agreement's still-pending "Fish 2" disciplines target
- The WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies began under a mandate from the 2001 Doha Development Round and were also linked to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6, which calls for prohibiting subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing
- India is among the top marine fish producing nations, with a coastline of about 8,118 km and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending 200 nautical miles
The Agreement operationalizes SDG 14.6 in binding trade law; India's acceptance is a step toward meeting this SDG commitment while retaining policy space for its coastal fishing communities.
- Agreement adopted: 17 June 2022 (WTO MC12, Geneva)
- Entered into force: 15 September 2025, after 111 of 166 WTO members (two-thirds) deposited acceptance instruments
- Three prohibited subsidy categories: IUU fishing, overfished stocks, unregulated high-seas fishing
- S&DT carve-out: low-income/resource-poor/livelihood fishing within 12 nautical miles of baselines for developing/LDC members
- India's EEZ: extends to 200 nautical miles; coastline of about 8,118 km
- Aquaculture (fish farming) is outside the Agreement's scope — only marine capture fisheries subsidies are covered