The Oceanic island nation of Tonga has become the first nation to submit a subsidy notification with assistance from the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dedicated Fish Fund.
The WTO opened the USD 15.5 million (EUR 13.2 million) fund last year, comprising donations from the organization’s member nations, to help developing members meet terms laid out in its deal to end harmful fisheries subsidies. More specifically, the fund aims to help these countries with technical assistance, such as building up their fisheries data collection infrastructure and reporting capabilities.
Under the agreement, WTO members are required to notify the organization of details the deal aims to make mandatorily transparent. These details include membership of any regional fisheries management organization or arrangement (RFMO/A), such as information about the areas and species under the competence of the RFMO/A, the status of managed fish stocks, the conservation and management measures under the RFMO/A, and any lists of vessels and/or operators the RFMO/A has determined have engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The assessment submitted by Tonga will “review the existing legal and policy frameworks governing fisheries management and subsidy administration in order to identify gaps and areas requiring amendment or development to ensure full compliance.” The submitted assessment will also “determine the technical and financial support needs necessary to align Tonga’s fisheries management systems.”
"The submission of Tonga's first notification under the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies marks an important milestone in our implementation efforts,” Tonga Ministry of Fisheries CEO Sione Vailala Matoto said of his country's submission. “We are grateful for the support of the WTO Funding Mechanism, the ‘Fish Fund,’ which enabled Tonga to conduct a national workshop and develop Tonga's first fisheries subsidy inventory, strengthening our capacity to meet our WTO obligations and promote sustainable fisheries management."
The WTO highlighted that Tonga's submission in particular was important because its location in the Pacific Island region leaves it susceptible to harmful fisheries subsidies, especially among distant-water fleets operating in the area.
"Transparency is at the heart of turning the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into tangible benefits for the world's oceans and the people who depend on them,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a release. “Tonga's notification is an encouraging example of how the WTO Fish Fund is helping developing and least-developed members build the capacity needed to implement the agreement and contribute to more sustainable fisheries."
Tonga's notification was prepared during a workshop held from 20 to 22 May in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, as part of a project backed by the Fish Fund.
Contributing members to the WTO's Fish Fund include Australia, Canada, the E.U., Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the U.A.E., and the U.K.
