PARIS, 21 Sept. - (ANA) - Congratulations to the World Trade Organization on bringing the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into force. This landmark agreement marks a decisive step toward curbing harmful subsidies that contribute to overfishing, illegal fishing and depletion of marine resources. 

 

Now that there is an Agreement, what should governments do to effectively stop funding unsustainable fishing? Read the OECD Recommendation on Eliminating Government Support to Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing to learn what's next.

 

 

 

 

One priority of fisheries reform is to ensure no public money unintentionally ends up in the hands of unscrupulous actors. Indeed, while no government deliberately funds IUU fishing, strong measures are needed to reduce the risk that support benefits IUU fishing and to withdraw public money if it does.

 

The OECD Recommendation on Eliminating Government Support to Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing shares practical policy guidance for governments to ensure no public money supports illegal fishing, calling on Adherents to develop and implement a range of policy measures to minimise this risk.

 

Of the $10.7 billion total annual support to fisheries the OECD Review of Fisheries 2025 finds that 65% presents a risk of encouraging unsustainable and illegal fishing in the absence of effective management. 

 

The good news is that with greater investment in stock assessments and improved management practices, there’s significant potential to boost both ecosystem health and the profitability of fisheries.

 

 

To read the recommendations, visit: https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0507

 

 

AB/ANA/21 September 2025 - - -