WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/RL/GEN/54 
1 July 2005 
 (05-2869) 
Negotiating Group on Rules Original:   English 
  
 
CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCUSSION ON THE FRAMEWORK FOR  
DISCIPLINES ON FISHERIES SUBSIDIES – AQUACULTURE  
 
Submission from Australia, Ecuador and New Zealand
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 30 June 2005,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Australia, Ecuador and New Zealand. 
  The submitting delegations have requested that this paper, which was submitted to the Rules 
Negotiating Group as an informal document (JOB(05)/ 137), also be circulated as a formal document. 
 
_______________ 
 
1. Introduction 
  New Zealand’s paper on management services
1 and the United States’ paper on vessel 
decommissioning2 marked the first detailed discussions of pa rticular categories of fisheries subsidies, 
putting aside the question of the structure of such disciplines.  Whilst the New Zealand and 
United States papers focussed on the criteria needed to allow exceptions to new disciplines, this paper 
addresses the scope of aquaculture fisheries a nd consequently whether disciplines should be 
developed to cover aquaculture.  Ou r paper is written from the perspective of examining the extent to 
which certain types of fisheries subsidies contribute to trade distortion and impact on resources.    The purpose of this paper is to elicit views on th e extent that aquaculture is relevant to WTO 
Members’ consideration, in particular:  
(a) what is the scope of activities covered by the term "aquaculture"?  
 
(b) is there a need to develop disciplines to cover aquaculture? 
 
(i) does aquaculture impact on wild capture fisheries? 
 
(ii) what are the trade distorting/resour ce impacts of subsidies to aquaculture? 
 
(iii) what would be the consequences of  placing new disciplines on subsidies to 
wild capture fishing but not aquaculture? 
 
(iv) what are the key interests of Developing Countries in this area? 
 
                                                     
 
1 TN/RL/GEN/36 
2 TN/RL/GEN/41 TN/RL/GEN/54 
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 To date, little discussion has taken place on these issues.   Brazil
3, China4 and Hong Kong China have, 
for example, expressed a view on whether aquaculture  should be included in future disciplines.  We 
consider that there is merit in  the Rules Negotiating Group further considering the issue, with the 
intention of generating further analysis and discussion regarding aquaculture subsidies.  
 2.  Background  
 The FAO reports that world fish consumption mo re than tripled over the period 1961 – 2002, 
increasing from 29 to 100.7 million tonnes.
5  Global fisheries production has doubled since 1973, 
reaching 133 million tonnes in 2002.6  Global exports of fisheries products in 2001 (the latest 
available figures) totalled 27.2 million tonnes.7  We note that these figures do not differentiate 
between production levels for high and low value fish eries products.  Recently the major increases in 
global fisheries production have been attributed to aquaculture fisheries production, rather than wild 
capture production.  In particular, output from aqu aculture (excluding aquatic plants) grew at an 
annual average rate of 9.1 per cent from 1971 - 2001, compared to a rate of 1.2 per cent growth in 
wild capture fisheries.8  The FAO considers that increases in  aquaculture production will need to 
continue in order to meet future global  consumption demands, particularly because,  most capture 
fisheries are at or near their production limits.9  Asia produced 88.5 per cent of world aquaculture 
output (excluding aquatic plants) in  2001.  Asia is expected to continue to produce the bulk of 
aquaculture output by 2020, and all regions ar e forecast to expand aquaculture production.10  
 
 Estimates of Global fisheries subsidies va ry between 14 billion US dollars and 20 billion 
dollars annually.11  OECD efforts to collect information of  government financial transfers have proven 
difficult and data provided to the OECD on financial transfers to the aquaculture sector have not been 
reported on an aggregate OECD basis.12  Nevertheless, commentators suggest that that the effects of 
such financial transfers are significant.  It has al so been argued that the financial transfers to the 
aquaculture sector may be more likely to target research compared to transfers provided to other 
fisheries sectors13. 
                                                      
3 TN/RL/W/176 
4 TN/RL/W/88. See also Questions and Comment s from Korea (TN/RL/W/160) on New Zealand’s 
Communications on Fisheries Subsidies (TN/RL/W/154). 
5 FAO Biennial report, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture  (SOFIA),  7 March 2005. 
6 FAO Biennial report, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture  (SOFIA),  7 March 2005. and 
Brugere, C., Ridler, N. “ Global Aquaculture Outlook in the Next Decades: An Analysis of National Aquaculture 
Production Forecasts to 2030 ” Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Fisheries Circular No.C1001, 2004 
7 See the FAO Fisheries Global Information System at www.fao.org/figis .  The extent of international 
trade in aquaculture products is di fficult to analyse because trade in many of these products is not yet 
documented and international trade statistics do not distinguish between wild and farmed origin.  
8 Brugere, C., Ridler, N. “ Global Aquaculture Outlook in the Next Decades: An Analysis of National 
Aquaculture Production Forecasts to 2030 ” Food and Agriculture Organiza tion, Rome, Fisheries Circular 
No.C1001, 2004.  According to the FAO Biennial report, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture  
(SOFIA),  7 March 2005, the share of world fisheries production attributable to aquaculture increased from 25.8 
to 29.9 per cent between 1998 and 2002. 
9 Brugere, C., Ridler, N. “ Global Aquaculture Outlook in the Next Decades: An Analysis of National 
Aquaculture Production Forecasts to 2030 ”, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Fisheries Circular 
No.C1001, (2004). 
10 Brugere, C., Ridler, N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Fisheries Circular No.C1001, 
2004. 
11 Milazzo, M., “ Subsidies in World Fisheries: A re-examination”,  World Bank Technical paper no. 
406, World Bank, Washington DC, (1998)  
12 Cox, A. and Schmidt, CC., “ Subsidies in the OECD Fisheries Sector: A Review of Recent Analysis 
and Future Directions”,  UN Food and Agriculture Organization, (2002) 
13 Cox, A. and Schmidt, CC., “ Subsidies in the OECD Fisheries Sector: A Review of Recent Analysis 
and Future Directions”,  UN Food and Agriculture Organization, (2002)  TN/RL/GEN/54 
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3.  Topics for discussion 
 
(a) What is the scope of activities covered by the term "aquaculture"?  
  Aquaculture is the term commonly used to d escribe the cultivation or farming of fisheries, 
generally within the territorial waters of a State.  However, it is not always clear what is in practice 
considered to be aquaculture and how aquacultu re is defined in various jurisdictions.   
  The FAO defines aquaculture as: 
 
"The farming of aquatic organisms includi ng fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic 
plants, with some sort of intervention in  the rearing process to enhance production, 
such as regular stocking, feeding, protec tion from predators, etc. Farming also 
implies individual or corporate ownersh ip of the stock being cultivated." 
… 
"For statistical purposes, aquatic organisms which are harvested by an individual or 
corporate body which has owned them th roughout their rearing period contribute to 
aquaculture"
14. 
Members should note that there are two kinds of aquaculture, land-based aquaculture and maritime 
aquaculture.  Land-based aquacultu re includes farms (ponds) for raising prawns or fin fish (e.g. 
tilapia), whereas maritime aquaculture  includes sea cages of salmon, tuna or trout.  This distinction 
should be kept in mind in considering the questions raised in this paper.    
 
 We note that some WTO Members have notified to the WTO Subsidies Committee various 
programmes which could be consid ered relating to aquaculture.  Some examples of the types of 
fisheries subsidies, which may encompass aquaculture, notified by WTO Members are: 
 
• subsidies for inland hatching fisheries to mitigate the environmental effects of dam 
construction15; 
• subsidies for land improvement, acquisition of land and agricultural mechanization16;  
• subsidies to assist with the implementation of  programmes for the promotion of sustainable 
fisheries to ensure the stable, safe a nd efficient supply of food to people17;  
• subsidies to both regional governments a nd non-governmental organisations for the 
promotion of aquaculture to assist with the sustainable management of fisheries resources18; 
and  
• subsidies for the development of commercial fi sheries for marketing and aquaculture research 
for non-salmon species.19 
 
                                                      
14 FAO/FIDI, Aquaculture production (1984-1986), UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, 
Fisheries Circular, 815 (1989); FAO, Aquaculture development. FAO Techni cal Guidelines for Responsible 
Fisheries , 5: p.40 (1997a) 
15 G/SCM/N/95/USA 
16 G/SCM/N/95/JPN 
17 G/SCM/N/95/JPN 
18 G/SCM/N/95/JPN 
19 G/SCM/N//95/CAN TN/RL/GEN/54 
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 (b) Is there a need to develop di sciplines to cover aquaculture? 
 
(i) Does aquaculture impact on wild capture fisheries?   Points for consideration:  Land-based and maritime aquaculture fisheries, in some WTO 
member countries, can be stocked using the progeny of brood stock fish caught in wild capture areas 
that may already be over-exploited by wild capture  fishing.  Further, some forms of aquaculture 
production (e.g. tuna) rely entirely on sourcing juveniles from wild capture fisheries, which may further drive pressure on wild fish stocks.  Al so, given the high demand for marine protein in 
aquaculture feed, aquaculture ma y also result in further pressures on wild stocks such as small 
pelagics commonly used in aquaculture feed.
20  However, we note however that research indicates 
that catches of species used for aqu aculture fishmeal have remained static despite significant increases 
in aquaculture production over the last 20 years.21 Aquaculture may have positive environmental 
affects.  For example, it may be used to suppor t re-stocking, re-seeding and ranching processes which 
can improve wild capture and recreational fisheries. 
 
(ii) What are the trade distorting/resour ce impacts of subsidies to aquaculture? 
  Points for consideration:  Are subsidies to a quaculture less trade distortive in that they may 
have no impact on other Members’ production levels?  Should the fact that subsidies to aquaculture 
also affect the market price for w ild capture fish of the same or similar species impact on the decision 
as to whether aquaculture should be included in any disciplines?   
  Are the basic characteristics and the problem s confronting wild capture and aquaculture 
fisheries distinct?  Land-based aquaculture subs idies can impact on the habitat/food chain in the 
aquaculture area and beyond.  Does this justify the inclusion of aquaculture in future (WTO-plus) 
disciplines?  If maritime aquaculture has a resource impact (eg on related wild fisheries) does this 
justify inclusion in future WTO disciplines?    (iii)  What would be the consequences of placi ng new disciplines on subsidies to wild capture 
fishing but not aquaculture?  
 
 Points for consideration:  Are subsidies to aquaculture more amenable  to existing disciplines 
under the WTO Subsidies Agreement (SCM) becau se their impacts on domestic production and on 
exports may be more readily assessed?  Would this evaluation differ between maritime and land-based aquaculture?  Are there specific parts of the WTO SCM that sufficiently cover aquaculture 
subsidisation (for example, the serious prejudice provisions of Article 6)? 
 
Should these impacts be taken into account in  deciding whether aquaculture should be 
included in new disciplines?     Could aquaculture be excluded from any new disciplines, without providing a means for 
circumvention of fisheries subsidy prohi bitions on non-aquaculture subsidies? 
 
                                                     
 
20 See “ Seafeeds: Sustainable Environmental Aquaculture Feeds ” (2003), a report available at 
www.nautilus-consultants.co.uk  for a detailed account of issues and trends in aquaculture feed use.  
21 See Allan, G.L “ Fish for Feed vs Fish for Food ” presented at the Australian Academy of 
Technological Sciences and Engineer ing Crawford Fund Conference, “ Fish, Aquaculture and Food Security: 
Sustaining Fish as a Food Supply ” (11 August 2004).  TN/RL/GEN/54 
 Page 5 
 
 
 (iv)  What are the key interests of Developing Countries in this area? 
  Points for consideration:  Aquaculture is " one of the fastest growing food producing sectors of 
the world and has achieved a reputation as a sign ificant contributor to poverty alleviation, food 
security and income generation ".
22  According to the FAO, developing countries contributed over 
90 per cent of the total global aquaculture fisheries production.23  The FAO forecasts that by 2010 
fisheries production (including from aquaculture fisheries) will be outweighed by demand for 
fisheries products which will result in severe restrictions on trade.24  Accordingly, the effect of a 
prohibition on subsidies to aquaculture fisheries would be felt even more keenly in developing 
countries in these forecast circumstances.  
 
 How can special and differential treatment opera te with respect to aquaculture?  In this 
respect, it would be useful to discuss the extent of DC interests on this issue. 
 
4.  Conclusion 
  Aquaculture fisheries form a significant part of global fisheries production.  Moreover, trade 
in products from aquaculture fisheries is in creasingly important, particularly as the demand for 
fisheries products begins to outstrip supply.  The nature of aquaculture fishery production – in a 
controlled environment, and generally within the territories of countries – means that subsidies to 
these fisheries are more amenable to existing SC M disciplines.  Nevertheless, trade-distorting 
aquaculture subsidies that circumvent existing SC M disciplines might be considered by Members as 
requiring coverage by any new disciplines.  Therefor e, we encourage Members to further consider the 
issues surrounding subsidies to  aquaculture fisheries. 
  
__________ 
 
 
                                                     
 
22 Subasinghe, R.P; “ An Outlook for Aquaculture Developme nt: Major Issues, Opportunities and 
Challenges ” UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Fisheries Circular No.C886 Rev. 2 p.31 (2003) 
23  Subasinghe, R.P.; FAO Circular No. C886 (2003) 
24 Josupeit, H. & Franz, N. “ Aquaculture – Trade, Trends, Standards and Outlooks ”: A presentation by 
the FAO Fisheries Department, January 2004.