Negotiators have been working for over a year to secure a strengthened World Trade Organization (WTO) deal on ending harmful fishery subsidies.
Luke Daunivalu is the Fijian ambassador to the United Nations (UN) bodies based in Geneva, Switzerland, including the WTO. He talked to SeafoodSource about how realistic the prospects for a deal are and why he is wary about large nations fulfilling their obligations under a deal if it does reach an agreement.
The deal currently on the table, the draft text of which is commonly referred to as Fish 2, concerns ending subsidies that lead to overfishing and overcapacity. It seeks to build on a deal struck in 2022, commonly referred to as Fish 1, which prohibits subsidies to operations engaged in illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. That 2022 deal still hasn’t been ratified by a majority of WTO members.
SeafoodSource: What is the current status of the negotiations on Fish 2? Are negotiations ongoing, or are they currently paused?
Daunivalu: It’s an ongoing process since we missed the opportunity in Abu Dhabi at Ministerial Council 13, where we couldn’t get Fish 2 agreed. We have continued in Geneva and hope to conclude it as there were only a few elements we couldn’t agree on in Abu Dhabi. July was the date we’d targeted for a deal, but now we are continuing work on it with the chair of the talks [Einar Gunnarsson].
The key issue involved least developed countries’ concerns regarding the gradual period to implement the agreement within the time frame proposed. That poses a big problem for developing countries.
Other elements we are now focusing on addressing is what to do with small-scale artisanal fisheries in a way that doesn’t afford room for overfishing.
We are also seeking more clarity on disciplines for major fishing countries with distant-water fleets.
SeafoodSource: Are you optimistic that a deal can be signed this year?
Daunivalu: We remain hopeful given the urgency of getting something in place that curbs the open regime currently in effect. We have meetings between now and December. We are working hard with the chair and engaging bilaterally.
Another concern of the Fiji and Pacific islands is that the current text should not be watered down more. We have added elements such as a review clause that wasn’t there in Abu Dhabi, which allows for reviews.
It’s now in the next text. We don’t want to weaken the text. Other members are concerned that ...