According to a study by the University of British Colombia three years ago found that global fisheries subsidies amount to $30-34 billion a year, some $20 billion of which increases the capacity of fleets to fish longer, harder and further away. FAO has estimated that more than 80 percent of the world’s fisheries are overexploited, fully exploited, depleted or recovering.
Environmentalist organizations revealed that more than one billion people over the world depend on fish as a key protein source. An important means to attack overfishing is to reduce global subsidies to fishing fleets, and negotiations to that end are part of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha round towards a reform of global rules for commerce. Despite ambitious work schedules, the Doha round talks have shown very little sign of progress recently.
Michael Hirshfield, chief scientist at the US-based Oceana organisation, said that several environmental lobby groups followed trade negotiations that focused on fishing subsidies the first week in November. He told that it is important to distinguish between fishing by huge industrial fleets, subsidised by cheap fuel, and small-scale un-motorised fisheries in local, coastal waters – the latter not contributing to overfishing at all.
