In a significant move towards promoting sustainable trade practices, South Africa formally deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 1st March. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel, presented South Africa's acceptance to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the closing session of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Director-General Okonjo-Iweala expressed warm welcome to South Africa's acceptance of the Agreement, emphasizing the crucial role of trade in implementing this historic accord for ocean sustainability. Highlighting the momentous occasion of South Africa's support at the closing session of MC13, she expressed hope that this gesture would encourage other WTO members to follow suit, facilitating the Agreement's entry into force.
With South Africa's instrument of acceptance, the total number of WTO members formally accepting the Agreement now stands at 71. However, an additional 39 formal acceptances are required for the Agreement to take effect. It is important to note that the Agreement will come into force upon acceptance by two-thirds of the membership.
Adopted unanimously at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva in June 2022, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies establishes new, binding, multilateral rules aimed at curbing harmful subsidies, which contribute significantly to the depletion of the world's fish stocks. Moreover, the Agreement recognizes the specific needs of developing and least-developed countries, instituting a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building to support them in fulfilling their obligations.
The Agreement prohibits support for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, while also banning support for fishing overfished stocks and ending subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas.
At MC12, members committed to continuing negotiations on unresolved issues, with the aim of making recommendations by MC13, held in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to introduce additional provisions that would further enhance the disciplines of the Agreement.
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