WT/MIN(24)/W/10  
 
16 February 2024  
(24-1409) Page: 1/6 
Ministerial Conference  
Thirteenth Session  
Abu Dhabi, 26 -29 February 2024  Original: English  
 
 
ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS  ON FISHERIES SUBSIDIES  
DRAFT TEXT  
Note: This document is without prejudice to any Member's positions or views, whether or not 
reflected herein.  
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ARTICLE A: SUBSIDIES CONTRIBUTING TO OVERCAPACITY AND OVERFISHING  
A.11 No Member shall grant or maintain subsidies to fishing or fishing related activities that 
contribute to overcapacity or overfishing. For the purpose s of this paragraph, subsidies that 
contribute to overcapacity or overfishing include2:  
(a) subsidies to construction, acquisition, maintenance, modernisation, renovation or 
upgrading of vessels;  
(b) subsidies to the purchase or maintenance of machines and equipment for vessels 
(including fishing gear and engine, fish -processing machinery, fish -finding technology, 
refrigerators, or machinery for sorting or cleaning fish);  
(c) subsidies to the purchase/costs of fuel, ice, or bait;  
(d) subsidies to costs of personnel,  social charges, or insurance;  
(e) income support of vessels or operators or the workers they employ except for such 
subsidies implemented for subsistence purposes during seasonal closures;  
(f) price support of fish caught;  
(g) subsidies to at -sea support; and  
(h) subsidi es covering operating losses of vessels or fishing or fishing related activities.  
A.1.1  (a) A subsidy is not inconsistent with Article A.1 if the subsidizing Member demonstrates 
that measures are implemented to maintain the stock or stocks  in the relevant fishery 
or fisheries at a biologically sustainable level.3 Such demonstration shall include an 
explanation of how those measures ensure, or can reasonably be expected to ensure, 
that the stock or stocks in the relevant fishery or fisheries are maintained at a 
biologically sustainable level and shall be made through a notification by the subsidizing 
 
1 For greater clarity , Article A.1 does not apply to subsidies to the extent they regard stocks that are 
overfished.  
2 For greater clarity, the  subsidies listed in this provision shall not be deemed to contribute to overcapacity 
or overfishing when granted or maintained in accordance with Article A.1.1.  
3 For the purpose s of these Additional P rovisions , the term  "biologically sustainable level " shall have the 
same meaning as in footnote 11 of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies  (AFS) . Members acknowledge that the 
biologically sustainable level  of stocks may be influenced by factors beyond the control of the subsid izing Member.  WT/MIN(24)/W/10  
 
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  Member  as soon as practicable and no later than six months after a new subsidy 
program comes into effect, and thereafter in the Member's regular notifications o f 
fisheries subsidies under Article 25 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures  (SCM Agreement ) and Article  8.1 of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies  
(AFS) .4,5 
 (b) With the exception of Members covered by Article B.5 and notwithstanding 
Article  A.1.1(a), for a developing country Member that is : 
(i) neither  amongst the 10 largest providers of fisheries subsidies by annual 
aggregate  level of fisheries subsidies as notified to the Committee  on Fisheries 
Subsidies (the Committee)  under Article C.4;   
(ii) nor significantly engaged6 in fishing or fishing related activities in any area farther 
than one Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO) Major 
Fishing Area7 beyond the one(s) adjacent to the Member's territorial sea8, 
  a subsidy is not inconsistent with Article  A.1 if the subsidizing Member demonstrates 
through its regular notifications of fisheries subsidies under Article 25 of the 
SCM Agreement  and Article 8.1 of the AFS that measures are implemented to maintain 
the stock or stocks  in the relevant fishery or fisheries at a biologically sustainable 
level.9,10 
 (c) The information11 provided in the notification referred to in Article A.1.1(a) and 
Article  A.1.1(b) shall enable other Members to effectively evaluate the subsidy 
according to the conditions set out in Article  A.1.1 and shall include the following for the 
relevant fish sto ck or stocks:  
(i) conservation and management measures in place;  
(ii) status of the fish stocks12 (e.g., overfished, maximally sustainably fished, 
underfished, or unknown) and the reference points used, and whether such stocks 
are shared13 with any other Member or  are managed by a Regional Fisheries 
Management Organization or Arrangement  (RFMO/A )14; 
 
4 A coastal Member that is not the subsidizing Member shall not be required to provide data to enable the 
subsidizing Member to invoke Article A.1.1.  
5 For greater clarity, a Member's existing subsidies are to be included in such regular notifications as from 
the date of entry into force of these Additional Provisions.  
6 For the purpose s of these Additional Provisions , a Member shall be considered to be significantly engaged 
in the fishing or fishing related activities referred to in this subparagraph if the combined volume of marine 
capture production of its vessels or operators in the relevant FAO Major Fishing area(s) exceeds 2 per cent of 
the total volume of marine capture  production  of that Member . 
7 As delineated in the FAO Major Fishing Area map in effect at the time of adoption of these Additional 
Provisions , as circulated by the WTO Secretariat.  
8 For the purposes of this Article, if an FAO Major  Fishing Area  that is adjacent to the Member's territorial 
sea is directly connected to another FAO Major Fishing Area through a maritime canal, the latter  will be deemed 
to be one FAO Major Fishing Area beyond the one(s) adjacent to a Member's territorial sea.  
9 A coastal Member that is not the subsidizing Member shall not be required to provide data to enable the 
subsidizing Member to invoke Article A.1.1.  
10 For greater clarity, a Member's existing subsidies are to be included in such regular n otifications as from 
the date of entry into force of these Additional Provisions.  
11 For greater clarity, a Member is free to supplement, revise, or correct its notifications.  It is understood 
that the demonstration called for under Article A.1.1(a) and Art icle A.1.1(b) may include information contained 
in any supplemented, revised or corrected notifications, as well as in written answers provided by the subsidizing 
Member to written questions received as part of the review process set out in Article A.1.2.  
12 A Member shall provide information on the status of the assessed fish stocks based on the best scientific 
evidence available to it.  
13 The term "shared stocks" shall have the same meaning as  in footnote 14 of the AFS. 
14 For greater clarity, for fish stoc ks managed by  an RFMO/A, status of the fish stocks provided by the 
Member shall include available stock status information from the RFMO/A.  WT/MIN(24)/W/10  
 
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  (iii) catch data by species or group of species15 as compiled by a Member; and  
(iv) information on the fleet capacity as compiled by a Member.  
A.1.2 Any Member may, at any time, seek clarification regarding the notifications and information 
referred to in this Article.  If a Member seeks such clarification, or considers that a notification or 
information under this Article has not been provided, the Member may bring the matter to t he 
attention of such other Member or to the Committee. Where a Member has brought such a matter 
to the attention of the subsidizing Member or the Committee, the subsidizing Member shall respond 
to the request as quickly as possible in writing and in a comp rehensive manner.  
A.2 (a) [No Member shall grant or maintain subsidies [contingent upon, or tied to, actual or 
anticipated ] fishing or fishing related activities in areas beyond the subsidizing Member's 
jurisdiction [(whether solely or as one of several other conditions) ].[16],17 
 (b) [Article A.2(a) shall not apply to the non -collection from the operators or vessels of 
government to government payments under agreements and other arrangements with 
coastal Members or coastal non -Members for access to the surplus of the total allowable 
catch of the living resources in waters under their jurisdiction, provided that the 
requirements under Article A.1.1 are met. ]] 
ARTICLE  B: SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT  
B.1 The prohibition under Article A.1 shall not apply to LDC Members. A graduated LDC Member 
not covered by  the special and differential treatment provided for in  Article B.2 may grant or maintain 
the subsidies referred to in Article  A.1 to fishing or fishing related activities for  a maximum of 
[X] years after a decision of the UN General Assembly to graduate that Member from the "Least 
Developed Countries" category.18 
B.2 A developing country Member19 may grant or maintain the subsidies referred to in Article  A.1 
to fishing or fishing related activities if its share of the annual global volume of marine capture 
production does not exceed [ 0.8] per cent as per the most recent published FAO data as circu lated 
by the WTO Secretariat. A Member remains exempted until its share exceeds this threshold for three 
consecutive years. It shall be re -included in Article B.2 when its share of the global volume of marine 
capture  production falls back below the thresho ld for three consecutive years.  
B.3 (a) Except as provided for in Article B. 5, a developing country Member not covered by  the 
special and differential treatment  provided for  in Article B.1 or Article B.2 may grant or 
maintain the subsidies referred to in A rticle A.1 to fishing or fishing related activities 
within its EEZ, and in the area and for species under the competence of an RFMO/A 
through which the Member is authorized to engage in such fishing or fishing related 
activities, for a maximum of [ X] years after the entry into force of these Additional 
Provisions .20 A developing country Member intending  to invoke this provision shall  
 
15 For multispecies fisheries, a Member instead may provide other relevant and available catch data.  
16 [The mere fact that a subsidy is granted or maintained to vessels or operators that may be engaged in 
fishing or fishing related activities in areas beyond the subsidizing Member's jurisdiction (e.g., fishing in a nearby 
Member's exclusive economic zone (EE Z) pursuant to traditional or historical practices or arrangements  or 
reciprocal fisheries management and utilization arrangements , including relating to migratory stocks) shall not 
for that reason alone be considered to be contingent upon, or tied to, suc h fishing or fishing related activities. ] 
17 For a Member  whose maritime zone under national jurisdiction do es not have a definitively determined 
EEZ, the limit  shall be that  provided by international law , including the law  of the sea .  
18 Article B.3(b) and  (c) shall apply , mutatis mutandis , to a graduated LDC Member not covered by the 
special and differential treatment provided for in  Article  B.2, from the end of the period referred to in the second 
sentence of Article B.1.  
19 For greater clarity, this inclu des graduated LDC Members falling within the [0.8] per cent threshold.  
20 When the FAO data circulated by the WTO Secretariat for the purpose of Article B.2 show for the first 
time that a Member's share of annual global volume of marine capture production exceeds the threshold in 
Article  B.2 for three consecutive years, such th at the Member is no longer covered by Article B.2, Article  B.3(b) 
and (c) shall apply mutatis mutandis  to that Member as from that date. If the date on which the Member ceases 
to be covered by Article B.2 on this basis occurs during the period referred to in the first sentence of Article  B.3(a), 
the Member shall benefit from the remainder of that period.  WT/MIN(24)/W/10  
 
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  inform the Committee in writing within one year of the date of entry into force of these 
Additional Provisions . 
 (b) Subsidies granted or maintained under subparagraph (a) shall be exempt from actions 
based on Article A.1 and Article 10 of the AFS for a period of two additional years after 
the end of the period referred to in the first sentence of subparagraph  (a). 
 (c) A developing country Member to which subparagraph (b) applies may request no more 
than two two -year extensions of the period referred to in that provision through the 
Committee. The Committee shall take into account the specific circumstances of that 
Member , and shall give due and sympathetic consideration to developing country 
Members that demonstrate concrete progress toward implementing Article  A.1. 
B.4 (a) Except as provided for in Article B. 5, a developing country Member may grant or 
maintain the subsid ies referred to in Article A.1 for small scale and artisanal fishing or 
fishing related activities that are primarily low income, resource poor or livelihood in 
nature as operationally defined by a Member21, in its jurisdiction up to [12] 
[200]  nautical  miles measured from the baselines, including archipelagic baselines.  
(b)  A developing country Member availing itself of subparagraph (a) shall  notify,  through 
its regular notification under Article 25 of the SCM Agreement and Article 8.1 of the 
AFS, its operational definition(s) of the fishing or fishing related activities referred to in 
subparagraph (a) , and promptly inform the Committee of any modifica tions 
thereafter .22 
B.5 Article B.3 and Article B.4 shall not apply to a  developing country Member  significantly 
engaged23 in fishing  or fishing related activities in any area f arther than one FAO Major Fishing Area24 
beyond the one(s) adjacent to the Member's territorial sea.25 
ALT B.5 Developing country Members with competent fisheries management capabilities are 
encouraged to make a binding commitment not to avail themselves of Article B.1, Article  B.2, 
Article  B.3, and Article  B.4.26 
ARTICLE  C: NOTIFICATION AND TRANSPARENCY27 
C.1 The provisions of Article 25 of the SCM Agreement and Article 8 of the AFS shall apply to these 
Additional P rovisions , with the additions provided for in Article A, Article B, and this Article.  
 
21 For greater certainty, a range of characteristics may be taken into account as guiding points when 
considering "small scale and artisanal fishing or fis hing related activities " including: size of fishing vessel; level 
of motorisation; level of mechanisation; type of fishing gear; refrigeration or storage on board; labour or crew; 
ownership; time commitment (full time, part -time, seasonal); duration of fis hing trips; disposal of catch; 
utilization of catch (level of processing, preservation, or value -add); integration into economy or management 
system . 
22 A Member may meet this obligation by providing to the Committee an up -to-date electronic link to the 
Member's or other appropriate official web page that sets out this information.  
23 For the purpose s of these Additional Provisions , a Member shall be considered to be significantly 
engaged in the fishing or fishing related activities referred to in this paragr aph if the combined volume of the 
marine capture production of its vessels or operators in the relevant FAO Major Fishing area(s) exceeds 2  per cent 
of the total volume of marine capture production of that Member's vessels or operators.  
24 As delineated in the FAO Major Fishing Area map in effect at the time of adoption of these Additional 
Provisions , as circulated by the WTO Secretariat.  
25 For the purposes of this Article, if an FAO Major Fishing Area  that is adjacent to the Member's territori al 
sea is directly connected to another  FAO Major Fishing Area through a maritime canal, the latter  will be deemed 
to be one FAO Major Fishing Area beyond the one(s) adjacent to a Member's territorial sea.  
26 Such binding commitments include statements made by eligible Members to […], such as those made  
[placeholder for references to such binding commitments made before adoption  of these Additional Provisions ] 
and will be recorded by the Council for Trade in G oods and will be compiled and published  publicly on the WTO 
website.  
27 Targeted t echnical assistance and capacity building assistance to developing country Members, including 
LDC Members, shall be available for the purpose s of implementing th ese Additional  Provision s. WT/MIN(24)/W/10  
 
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  C.2 Each Member shall notify the Committee in writing on an an nual basis of : 
(a) any vessels and operators for which the Member has information that reasonably 
indicates the use of forced labour, along with relevant information to the extent 
possible; and  
(b) a list of any agreements in force, or existing arrangements, for o btaining access to 
fisheries of another coastal Member or non -Member, and such notification shall consist 
of:  
(i) the titles of the agreements or arrangements;  
(ii) a list of their parties; and  
(iii) to the extent possible, the full text of the agreements or arrangements.  
A Member may meet this obligation by providing an up -to-date electronic link to the 
Member's or other appropriate official web page that sets out this information.  
C.3 Notwithstanding Article 1 of the AFS, and to the extent possible, each Mem ber shall notify the 
Committee in writing on an annual basis of its fuel subsidies granted or maintained to fishing or 
fishing related activities that are not specific within the meaning of Article 2 of the SCM Agreement.  
C.4 Each Member shall notify  to the Committee information that is necessary for the determination 
of its annual aggregate level of fisheries subsidies, building upon its existing  notifications under 
Article  25 of the SCM Agreement and Article 8.1 of the AFS. The first notification  of this information  
shall be submitted not later than  120 days from the entry into force of these Additional Provisions . 
Thereafter,  this information shall be provided  in the Member's  regular notifications of fisheries 
subsidies under Article  25 of the SCM Ag reement and Article 8.1 of the AFS.28 Each Member shall 
submit this information through a template the content and form of which shall be previously agreed 
by Members.  
C.5 Within one year from the date of entry into force of these Additional Provisions , the WTO 
Secretariat shall compile and m ake publicly available a list of Members and their respective annual 
aggregate levels of fisheries subsidies, on the basis of the information referred to in Article C.4. The 
list shall be ranked in descending order by annual aggregate level of fisheries su bsidies. The list shall 
be updated in accordance with  the cycle of regular notifications under Article 25 of the 
SCM Agreement  and Article 8.1 of the AFS. For the purpose of establishing the list, the WTO 
Secretariat may request technical clarifications fr om the subsidizing Member concerning the notified 
subsidies. The Committee shall review the list at its regular meetings.  
[C.6 A Member may invoke Article A.1.1, Article  B.2, Article  B.3, or Article  B.4 only in respect of 
subsidies which it has notified to the Committee under Article 25 of the SCM Agreement  and 
Article  8.1 of the AFS.]  
C.7 Nothing in th ese Additional Provisions  requires the provision of confidential information, 
including confidential busine ss information.   
ARTICLE  D: OTHER OVERCAPACITY - AND OVERFISHING -RELATED  PROVISIONS  
D.1 Not later than  three years after the expiry of the transition period referred to in Article B.3(a) , 
the Committee shall review  the operation  of these Additional Provisions . This review shall assess, in 
particular, the overall impact  on overcapacity and overfishing of these Additional Provisions  and shall 
identify any necessary modifications to improve their effectiveness , taking into account the 
objectiv es of these provisions . The Committee shall report to the Council for Trade in Goods the 
outcome of this review , including any  resulting  proposals to amend the text of  these Additional 
 
28 In accordance with the applicable periodicity of such notifications, including as provided for in 
footnote  13 of the AFS. WT/MIN(24)/W/10  
 
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  Provisions . Thereafter, these issues shall be addressed in the periodic reviews under Article 9.4 of 
the AFS.  
D.2 Before granting a subsidy,  and notwithstanding the se Additional Provisions , a Member sh all 
consider the consequence of the subsidy on overcapacity or overfishing.  
ARTICLE E: RELATIONSHIP WITH AGREEMENT ON FISHERIES SUBSIDIES  
E.1 These Additional Provisions , along with the AFS, shall constitute the comprehensive disciplines 
referred to in Article 12 of the AFS  and shall achieve a comprehensive agreement on fisheries 
subsidies in accordance with paragraph 4 of the Ministerial Decision on the AFS  adopted at the 
Twelfth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference .29 
E.2 Article 1, Article  2, Article  6, Article  7, Article 8, Article  9, Article  10, and Article  11 of the AFS 
shall apply , mutatis mutandis , to these Additional Provisions30, in addition and without prejudice to 
any cross -references in these Additional Provisions  to specific provisions of the AFS . 
__________  
 
29 WT/MIN(22)/33  – WT/L/1144 . 
30 For greater certainty , Article 10.2 of the AFS shall apply to consultations and the settlement of disputes 
under Article A, and Article A shall not pr event a Member from granting a subsidy for disaster relief in accordance 
with Article  11.1 of the AFS.