India's WTO fisheries ratification a pragmatic step with focus on fair Phase 2

New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) India’s decision to ratify Phase 1 of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is a pragmatic step to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing while preserving its policy space on issues that directly affect small-scale and artisanal fishers, an official statement said on Thursday.

The statement from the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying said India deposited its Instrument of Acceptance on July 20, 2026, and that the ratified phase targets IUU fishing, overfished stocks and unregulated high‑seas fishing.

"It does not cover the more difficult questions of overcapacity and overfishing, including subsidies for fuel, gear, ice, vessel construction and modernisation,"

"Those issues belong to Phase 2, where India continues to seek fair and differentiated treatment for developing countries," the statement said citing views of Dr.

M. Krishnan, former Principal Scientist & Head, ICAR – CIFE and Dr. P. Krishnan, Director, BOBP-IGO.

India supports measures aimed at the most harmful fishing practices but insists conservation rules must not reduce the development space of coastal communities that depend on marine fisheries for livelihoods.

"For India, the challenge is not whether to support conservation, but how to ensure that conservation does not come at the cost of equity," the statement, calling the country's position principled and practical.

India made clear that its ratification of Phase 1 does not weaken its demand for a longer transition period and more flexible treatment in Phase 2. The call for a 25-year transition period for developing countries within their exclusive economic zones remains part of the broader negotiating position.

India also insists that subsidy disciplines should be assessed using a per-fisher benchmark, rather than through comparisons that overlook vast differences in scale, capacity and state support.

Across the Bay of Bengal region, fisheries are a source of food security, employment and social stability for millions of small-scale fishers rather than merely an economic activity.

Hence, any multilateral discipline on subsidies must recognise the realities of artisanal and coastal fisheries in developing countries, where support is often aimed at livelihood protection rather than industrial expansion.

--IANS

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