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 (Fig. 1) 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 emissions7,8.

Fig. 1
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Fisheries subsidies amount by category and type and grouped by developed and developing country groups (dark vs. light blue, respectively), for 20186.

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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.

The necessity for additional regulations is clear. While the current agreement tackles acute concerns regarding fisheries sustainability — prohibiting subsidies facilitating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing (Article 3), exploitation of overfished populations (Article 4), and unmanaged fish populations in the high seas (Article 5) — broader regulations are imperative to tackle the root causes of overfishing. This is particularly relevant for subsidies incentivizing unsustainable fishing capacity9, which is further facilitated by improper or incomplete reporting of catches10. This need aligns with the specific target of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6: The WTO should as soon as possible after 2020 prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity of fishing fleets and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing and refrain from introducing similar new subsidies. This must be done whilst recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment is needed for developing countries, particularly in regions where climate change will have a greater impact.

To combat overfishing, halt biodiversity loss and CO2 emissions, and secure food supply and peoples’ livelihoods, WTO members must prohibit remaining harmful fisheries subsidies11,12. Clear prohibitions against subsidies driving overfishing and excessive fishing capacity, such as those reducing fuel and vessel construction costs or artificially inflating market prices6, are crucial (Fig. 1). Negotiators are considering exemptions for subsidies allocated to managed stocks with biologically diverse and sustainable fish populations. However, this could create unintended loopholes. Should exemptions be part of the agreement, subsidizers should be required to demonstrate the effectiveness of their sustainability measures, with major subsidizers taking meaningful action toward commitments to preserve biodiversity and fish populations.

Furthermore, subsidies for distant water fishing fleets, wherein nations fish beyond their own territories, must be abolished to prevent overfishing in international waters and in the coastal waters of countries that are food and nutrition-insecure — i.e., countries/political entities with lower Gross Domestic Products (GDPs) than the subsidizing countries. Among the highest subsidizing nations/political entities are China, the European Union (EU) as a block, USA, and The Republic of Korea (Fig. 2), which are particularly active in distant water and high seas fishing (Table 1). Evidence indicates that fishing in the high seas is predominantly supported through government subsidies13,14 and such subsidies jeopardize low-income countries that are reliant on fishing for food and nutrition security15,16. Under the banners of special and differentiated treatment and assuring sustainability, exemptions provided to low-income countries should only apply to small-scale fishers within national waters utilizing low-impact techniques or engaged in Indigenous and/or subsistence fishing — and even for these groups of fishers, subsidies should be strictly dissociated and decoupled from catalyzing overfishing17.

Fig. 2: Top subsidizing nations/political entities in 2018 (amount in million USD) by category of subsidy (i.e., ambiguous, capacity-enhancing, and beneficial)6 and total.
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Color and size show the details about Ambiguous, Beneficial, Capacity-enhancing and Total.

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Table 1 Harmful subsidies in 2018 by leading Distance-Water Fishing (DWF) nation/political entities targeting fish in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of other countries or the high seas (data source www.dwfsubsidyatlas.org).
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We call upon global leaders to conclude the WTO fisheries subsidies agreement negotiations and to craft the supplementary regulations essential for lasting sustainability and equity in the ocean. Well-managed wild fisheries are pillars supporting food and nutrition security, livelihoods, equity, and cultural heritage. WTO members must leverage their political authority to safeguard ocean health and societal wellbeing as this will help achieve infinity fish18 and ocean resilience.