DDG Ellard highlighted the urgency of improving the sustainability of marine fisheries and the importance of collective action by all governments. She also praised the efforts of African governments in helping to adopt the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022.

“As a continent surrounded by oceans and home to numerous fisheries, Africa is responsible for the management and conservation of a significant portion of the world's marine resources,” DDG Ellard said. “With over 12 million people in Africa depending directly and indirectly on the marine fishing industry for their livelihoods, it is crucial that we work together toward sustainable management of our ocean resources,” she noted.

“We know that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing currently costs Africa as much as USD 2.3 billion in economic losses each year; that more than 30% of African fish stocks are overexploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion; and that the health of African fisheries would improve if foreign fleets were not paid to fish in the unregulated high seas just beyond the exclusive economic zones of African countries,” DDG Ellard added. “Africa would be a big winner from a strong outcome on fisheries subsidies by MC13 — both the Agreement's entry into force and the successful completion of the second wave of negotiations,” she said. The full text of her speech is available here.

Mr Khamis Mwalimu, Deputy Principal Secretary of Blue Economy and Fisheries of Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanzania, who read a statement on behalf of Suleiman Masoud Makame, Minister of Blue Economy and Fisheries of Zanzibar, said the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies can help ensure sustainable fishing activities, which will benefit the region.

“The fisheries sector in Africa means a lot to our economies and livelihood but, unfortunately, it is not that developed and we are not benefiting from high seas fishing the way we should be due to lack of modern fishing facilities and also due to IUU fishing which we should all stand against. We believe the WTO Fisheries Agreement will curb these fishing malpractices,” Mr Mwalimu said, adding that developing members should be provided the necessary support to comply with the requirements of the Agreement.

For the Agreement to become operational, two-thirds of members have to deposit their instruments of acceptance with the WTO. Five members have already done so. Members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiations on outstanding issues, with a view to making recommendations by MC13 for additional provisions that would further enhance the disciplines of the Agreement.

DDG Ellard noted that the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism, established under the Agreement, is dedicated to supporting developing and least-developed country members as they upgrade their fisheries management capacity and implement the new subsidy disciplines.  The Fund is up and running, and has already received contributions from Japan and Canada, with others to follow shortly, DDG Ellard said.

The workshop, which aims to enhance the participation of developing members and least-developed country members in the ongoing negotiations on fisheries subsidies and to facilitate their implementation of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, was hosted by the Government of Tanzania. It is the seventh of eight regional workshops that the WTO Secretariat has been conducting in various regions across the globe since November 2022.