WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Enters into Force

The WTO announced the entry into force of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at a special General Council meeting on 15 September, after instruments of acceptance from Brazil, Kenya, Viet Nam and Tonga pushed acceptances past the two-thirds threshold.

• Main announcement and implementation details: The Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received instruments of acceptance from Brazil, Kenya, Viet Nam and Tonga, signed the official depositary notification and handed it to General Council Chair Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Saudi Arabia). The Agreement (adopted by consensus at MC12 in June 2022) prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, fishing on overfished stocks, and fishing on the unregulated high seas. Mali and Oman have ratified and will deposit instruments “in the very near future.” The WTO established the WTO Fish Fund to support implementation; 17 members pledged more than USD 18 million, and the Fund launched a Call for Proposals with applications due by 9 October. A Committee on Fisheries Subsidies will be established to oversee implementation and transparency.

• Background, numbers and timelines: The announcement highlights that global subsidies to marine fishing are estimated at USD 35 billion per year, of which about USD 22 billion are considered harmful; 35.5% of global fish stocks were overfished in 2021 (source: FAO/OpenKnowledge). DG Okonjo-Iweala urged remaining members to accept the Protocol and expressed a goal to see the Agreement ratified by all members by the 14th Ministerial Conference (scheduled for March 2026). Reference materials and acceptance lists are available on the WTO website (factsheet, acceptance list, Fish Fund portal).