WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/GEN/20 
13 July 2005 
 
 (05-3124) 
Committee on Trade and Environment Original:   English 
  
 
RECENT ROUNDTABLE ON PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT AND  
SUSTAINABILITY IN FISHERIES SUBSIDIES DISCIPLINES 
 
Statement by UNEP at the Regular Session of the 
 
Committee on Trade and Environment of 6 July 2005  
 
 1. The recent roundtable on Promoting Developmen t and Sustainability in Fisheries Subsidies 
Disciplines held on 30 June 2005, was the sixth meeting UNEP has hosted on the subject.   
2. Around 50 participants from national government s, IGOs and NGOs attended, in their 
personal capacity, this informal meeting which provi ded an opportunity for open exchange of views 
on the subject.  Background papers were prepared wi th the generous support from the Government of 
New Zealand.  
3. The Chair’s report will be made availabl e at the UNEP website (www.unep.ch/etb
).  It will 
also be submitted to the CTE and the Rules Committ ee.  Nevertheless, I would like to share with you 
here some of the findings of the workshop.  
4. The focus was on select issues of trade, devel opment, and sustainability in the current WTO 
fisheries subsidies negotiations.  Specifically, this meeting sought to:  
(i) Identify options that advance su stainable development of artisanal fisheries while disciplining 
subsidies; 
(ii) investigate how Special and Differential Treat ment (S&D) in the context of fisheries 
subsidies can link new trade rules to devel opment, poverty reducti on and environmental 
issues; 
(iii) receive feedback on UNEP-commissioned studies and identify follow-up steps to direct 
UNEP’s future efforts in this area. 
5. The first draft paper presented was entitled “Artisanal and Small-scale Fishing: Promoting 
Poverty Reduction and Community Development through new WTO Rules on Fisheries Subsidies”. 
The paper addresses the relationship between artisanal  fisheries and sustainable development, the 
challenges of defining artisanal fisheries for the pur poses of subsidy disciplines and options for their 
treatment under new WTO disciplines. 
6. The subsequent open floor discussion emphasized the following points:  
(i) Both the “developmental impera tive” and the “sustainability cha llenge” are very real in the 
artisanal fishery sector, and both must be refl ected in any new WTO subsidies disciplines. 
(ii) data limits continue to hamp er understanding of subsidies to artisanal fisheries.  Further 
quantification and analysis of these subsidies and their impacts is necessary.   WT/CTE/GEN/20 
Page 2  
 
 (iii) in the absence of a universally applicable defin ition of artisanal fisheries, a definition to be 
elaborated for the WTO could reflect the motives for subsidizing the sector.  Poverty reduction, development, “cultural preservati on”, food security, employment, and improving 
fisheries management were the main motives di scussed.  Several participants also felt that 
further discussion of the distinction between “artisanal” and “small scale” is necessary. 
(iv) there is a need for further consideration of how  subsidies to the artisanal fishery sector may 
cause production as well as export market distortions .  It would be useful to identify subsidies 
to artisanal fisheries that pose a particularly “h igh risk”, such as capacity-enhancing subsidies. 
(v) participants emphasized the scientific and regul atory relevance of “fisheries management” 
and the role it can play in determining whet her a given subsidy programme has positive or 
negative impacts.  Both the need for and the difficulty of including such considerations in 
WTO subsidy rules was discussed, and a number of options considered.   
7. The second UNEP-commissioned draft paper was entitled “Reflecting Sustainable 
Development and Special and Differential Treatment  for Developing Countries in the Context of New 
WTO Fisheries Subsidies Rules”.  It discusses the importance of fisheries for developing countries, 
the potential elements of an S&D regime as well  as the options for making S&D operational in the 
fisheries subsidies negotiations.  
8. The discussion brought out the following points: 
(i) The issue of eligibility for S&D, including ques tions of initial distribution of rights to S&D 
and subsequent “graduation” provisions, need further discussion.  
(ii) Technical assistance is essential both for crea ting and utilizing reliable scientific information 
and for effectively implementing reforms.   
(iii) S&D provisions need to be revised and revi ewed over time to reflect changing trade, 
environmental, and developm ent conditions and needs;  
(iv) S&D provisions contributing to trade, developm ent, and environmental goals for developing 
countries should remain distinguishable from a potential “green box” non-actionable 
subsidies that will apply for all countries.  So me participants emphasised that developing 
countries are not seeking a “blank cheque” via S&D rules, but rather provisions that enable 
them to meet their goals;  
(v) The question of government-to-government paym ents in the context of fisheries “access 
agreements”, although not discussed in detail dur ing this workshop, was seen as an issue 
critical to developing country concerns, and in need of resolution. 
(vi) A number of options for making S&D operationa l in the fisheries subsidies disciplines were 
discussed. Some participants suggested combin ing an approach that would define an 
allowable level of support under which deve loping countries could maintain fisheries 
subsidies programmes with some sustainable development eligibility criteria.  Examples of such criteria could include healthy fish stocks or existence of a national fisheries resource 
management regime.  
(vii) However, the discussion of the sustainable deve lopment eligibility criteria approach, raised a 
number of significant questions, including: 
(a) What would be the baseline for establishing sustainable development-based criteria? 
(b) What institutions outside the WTO could be tasked with such judgements?  
(c) How could such an approach deal with the variable availability, reliability, and 
independence of fisheries data?  WT/CTE/GEN/20 
 Page 3 
 
 
 9. In general, most participants agreed that S&D rules must be defined simply and operationally, 
yet they must be sophisticated enough to encap sulate the complexity of the issues and avoid 
loopholes.  In recognition of the WTO’s core comp etencies, it is clear that new WTO rules cannot 
solve all of the problems of overcapacity and overfi shing.  Negotiations, therefore, need to remain 
centred on subsidies and on production and trade while tackling sustainability issues. 
10. In terms of follow-up, the two background papers  on artisanal fisheries and on S&D treatment 
will be revised and made available prior to and at the Hong-Kong WTO ministerial meeting. 
Participants suggested continued technical re search by UNEP and facilitating dialogue between 
stakeholders in particular in the following areas: 
y Access agreements with particular attenti on to sustainability, development and trade 
goals within access agreements; 
y options for conditionality cr iteria and benchmarks; and 
y options for institutional mechanisms to implement and monitor such criteria. 
 
11. UNEP was also encouraged to continue providing assistance through country projects that 
assess the impact of fisheries subsidies. 
12. With a view to being helpful for the ongoi ng WTO negotiations, we are looking forward to 
discussing possible follow-up activities with the WTO Secretariat and Member states.   
__________