Nearly 300 scientists from six continents have joined together with one voice to urge World Trade Organization members to end harmful fisheries subsidies and protect the ocean’s health.
These scientists, who range from economists and biologists to nutritionists and health specialists, published a letter in the journal Science on October 29 calling on WTO members to reach an agreement this year that eliminates all destructive fisheries subsidies, which could help “to curb overfishing, biodiversity degradation and loss, and CO2 emissions, and to safeguard food and livelihoods.”
Among other requests, the letter asks WTO members to prohibit subsidies that make it cheaper to purchase vessel fuel and that allow distant-water fishing on the high seas or in the waters of other nations. These types of subsidies unfairly disadvantage small-scale fishers in developing countries, making it harder for them to compete with large, industrial-scale fishing fleets from developed nations.
October 29, 2021