India joins WTO fisheries subsidies agreement to promote sustainable fishing
India has joined the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, bringing its marine fisheries subsidy regime under the agreement's disciplines
The agreement's disciplines apply to marine capture fisheries; aquaculture (fish farming) and inland fisheries fall outside its scope
This exclusion preserves government support for India's shrimp export sector, which is predominantly aquaculture-based rather than dependent on wild marine catch
The move is presented as consistent with promoting sustainable fishing practices on the marine capture side while continuing support for aquaculture-based livelihoods
Scope of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: Capture Fisheries vs Aquaculture
The Agreement, adopted at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva on 17 June 2022, disciplines subsidies only for "fishing and fishing-related activities" — defined around marine capture (wild-catch) fisheries and the high seas. Aquaculture (farming fish, shrimp or shellfish in controlled/semi-controlled environments) and inland (freshwater) fisheries are structurally outside its ambit, because the agreement's underlying concern — overcapacity and overfishing of wild stocks — does not apply to farmed production in the same way.
Key Details
- Adopted: 17 June 2022 (WTO MC12); entered into force on 15 September 2025 after two-thirds of WTO members deposited instruments of acceptance
- Three core prohibitions apply only to marine capture fisheries subsidies: (i) subsidies enabling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, (ii) subsidies for fishing of already-overfished stocks, (iii) subsidies for fishing on unregulated high seas
- Aquaculture and inland/freshwater fisheries subsidies are not covered by these three prohibitions
- A further set of disciplines on subsidies contributing to general overcapacity and overfishing (sometimes called "Fish 2") remains under separate negotiation and is not yet binding
Because the agreement's disciplines are scoped to marine capture fisheries, India's aquaculture-heavy production base is largely unaffected by the new obligations even as its marine capture subsidy regime now falls under WTO scrutiny.
India's Shrimp Export Sector and Aquaculture-Based Production
India is among the world's largest exporters of farmed shrimp, with production concentrated in coastal aquaculture (primarily Litopenaeus vannamei / Pacific white shrimp, alongside traditional Penaeus monodon / black tiger shrimp) rather than wild marine catch. Because aquaculture is excluded from the agreement's subsidy disciplines, government support schemes for shrimp farming — inputs, hatcheries, cold-chain and export infrastructure — continue without new WTO-linked constraints.
Key Details
- Shrimp aquaculture is concentrated in coastal states such as Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Odisha
- Aquaculture (fish farming, including shrimp culture in ponds) is distinct from marine capture fisheries (wild catch from the sea) — a distinction central to why the WTO agreement's prohibitions do not reach it
- Export-oriented aquaculture is supported through schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY, launched 2020) and the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
- India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends 200 nautical miles from its roughly 8,118 km coastline, framing the scale of its marine fisheries resource base separately from its aquaculture sector
The explicit carve-out for aquaculture in the WTO agreement is what allows India's shrimp export industry — an aquaculture-dominated sector — to continue receiving domestic support even after India brings its marine capture-fisheries subsidies under the new multilateral disciplines.
Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for Marine Capture Fisheries
For the marine capture fisheries subsidies that are covered, the Agreement builds in flexibilities for developing and least-developed countries (LDCs), recognising the livelihood dependence of small-scale and artisanal fishing communities on subsidised inputs such as fuel and gear.
Key Details
- Developing/LDC members retain flexibility for "low income, resource-poor, livelihood" fishing and related activities, generally understood to cover subsistence-level fishing close to the coast
- India had pushed during negotiations for a longer transition period (India proposed around 25 years) compared to the 2-year transition period from entry into force that developed members favoured and that was ultimately reflected in the adopted text
- A WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism exists to help developing countries and LDCs build capacity to implement the Agreement's notification and monitoring requirements
- The disciplines require members to notify information on vessels/operators involved in IUU fishing to the WTO's Fisheries Subsidies body
India's marine capture fisheries subsidy regime (as distinct from its aquaculture-based shrimp sector) now operates within these S&DT flexibilities, balancing WTO discipline on capture-fisheries subsidies against continued support for small-scale coastal fishing communities.
- WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted: 17 June 2022 (MC12, Geneva); entered into force: 15 September 2025
- Three prohibited subsidy categories (marine capture fisheries only): IUU fishing, overfished stocks, unregulated high-seas fishing
- Aquaculture and inland/freshwater fisheries are outside the agreement's scope entirely
- India's EEZ: 200 nautical miles from a coastline of approximately 8,118 km
- India's shrimp aquaculture is concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Odisha; supported via PMMSY (2020) and MPEDA
- S&DT: developing/LDC members get a limited transition period (shorter than the 25-year period India had sought) for low-income, resource-poor, livelihood capture fisheries