India on Tuesday said that the agreement on fisheries subsidies that is currently being negotiated at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) should keep in mind the welfare of the fishing community that depends on the marine resources for their livelihood and sustenance.

       India reiterated that while subsidies to the fisheries sector have led to overexploitation, subsidies are critical for developing countries and small economies as such payouts help them develop and diversify the sector and protect the food security and livelihood of the fishermen.

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       With about 9 million people dependent on the sector, India constitutes 25 per cent of the world’s fishermen.

       In the ongoing Ministerial Conference 13 (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, WTO member nations are trying to build consensus on an agreement on subsidies given to fisheries that result in overfishing.

       “This negotiation is linked to the concept of sustainability and as such, any comprehensive agreement on fisheries subsidies should be built on the principles of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC),” India said at the WTO.

       “The agreement should also incorporate the provisions of Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) appropriately, as is the case for all WTO agreements. At the same time, for such an agreement to be effective and forceful in advancing the sustainability objectives, there is an urgent case for capturing non-specific fuel subsidies and transfer of fishing rights to corporate fishing under Government to Government (G2G) payments within the ambit of the disciplines,” India said.

       India also believes that developing countries should be allowed to continue subsidies to their poor fishermen to catch fish till exclusive economic zones (EEZs)--up to 200 nautical miles beyond the territorial waters. Besides, developed countries engaged in fishing beyond this zone should stop providing any kind of subsidies for the next 25 years.

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