According to Balaji, this was one part of the fisheries subsidies deal that was concluded in Geneva, while the other half on overfishing and overcapacity will be under discussion among WTO member nations. Balaji added that this was one part of the agreement that was concluded in Geneva.
An official stated on Friday that India will reintroduce its demand to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to exempt developing countries that are not engaged in fishing in distant waters from overfishing subsidy prohibitions for at least 25 years. This is due to the fact that the industry is still in its infant stage.
J. Balaji, Joint Secretary in the Department of Fisheries, stated that during the recently concluded ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, it was decided by the member countries to prohibit subsidies for fishermen who engage in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing as well as overfished stocks. This decision was made by the member countries.
Countries were granted a period of time equaling two years to prepare the required infrastructure in order to carry out the decision.
According to Balaji, this was one part of the fisheries subsidies deal that was concluded in Geneva, while the other half on overfishing and overcapacity will be under discussion among WTO member nations. Balaji added that this was one part of the agreement that was concluded in Geneva.
“Discussions on overfishing and overcapacity will be continued in the next negotiations. “We will ask for the 25-year exemption once again,” he stated to the press present here.
Fishing in waters that are more than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) away from the coasts of a country is referred to as fishing in faraway water or high seas.
During his discussion of the industry, he mentioned that India is also a big player in the marine fish catch and exporting industries.
“We have a rather modest and traditional fishing community. “Unlike other nations, such as the EU, who pay enormous subsidies to their fisherman, India only offers a little subsidy to its own fishermen,” he explained.
India is of the opinion that nations that have established industrial fishing should accept additional responsibility based on the CBDR principle (Common But Differentiated Responsibilities), and that detrimental subsidies should be prohibited.
Doha, Qatar served as the venue for the commencement of WTO discussions on fisheries subsidies in 2001. These negotiations were given the task to clarify and improve upon current WTO standards on fisheries subsidies.
Subsidies up to USD 7.2 billion are provided annually by China, the EU, the United States, Korea, and Japan, in the following proportions: USD 3.8 billion, USD 3.4 billion, USD 3.18 billion, and USD 2.8 billion, respectively.
The primary types of subsidies that India offers are for petrol and boats, among other things.