The WTO fisheries subsidies agreement and ocean sustainability

Abstract

This work starts by analysing the disciplines of the new World Trade Organization Fisheries Subsidies Agreement and then delves deeper into the provisions that did not make it into the final Agreement. Most subsidies granted by governments to the fishing sector encourage overfishing and overcapacity. The agreement includes a prohibition of subsidies to illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, to the fishing of overfished stocks, and a more general prohibition of subsidies to fisheries on the unregulated high seas. Our primary aim is to analyse the contours of the contribution by the WTO to the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources. This is one of the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations, and the WTO and its Members have been entrusted to reach an agreement to achieve SDG 14.6, contributing to ocean equity and sustainability.

Date of Award	31 Jan 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Manuel Fontaine Campos (Supervisor)