The World Trade Organization (WTO) achieved a significant milestone in June 2022 by adopting a much-anticipated fisheries subsidies agreement¹, aligning with strong recommendation from the global scientific community². This pivotal agreement marks a crucial advance towards ensuring the sustainability of our ocean. For the first time, it establishes binding global regulations compelling governments to assess the legality and sustainability of the fishing activities they subsidize. Harmful subsidies are a key driver of overfishing which is a major threat to ocean biodiversity³. Subsidies also exacerbate CO2 emissions from fishing sectors by incentivizing over-capacity⁴ and putting coastal livelihoods and food security at risk⁵. Within this agreement, trade ministers committed to further negotiations on unresolved matters. Such matters include crafting new regulations to diminish subsidies contributing to overfishing and excessive fishing capacity that have given some countries an unfair advantage in exploiting the ocean⁶. Removing harmful subsidies and therefore overfishing, will help to rebuild diverse fish populations, subsequently leading to increased levels of sustainable catches, and income for fishers. Rebuilt fish populations would also help reduce carbon emissions^7,8.

With an upcoming ministerial meeting in February 2024, WTO members are uniquely positioned to institute additional regulations that eliminate harmful subsidies, demonstrating their dedication to safeguarding the ocean and charting a more sustainable and equitable pathway forward with a commitment to more equitable trade.

We, a coalition of scientists representing all inhabited continents, urge the WTO to conclude the second round of negotiations by adopting ambitious regulations prioritizing fisheries sustainability and equity. (...)