| World | $35.4 billion |
| Asia | $19.5 billion |
| China only | $7.5 billion |
| Europe | $6.4 billion |
| EU members | $3.8 billion |
| U.S./Canada/Mexico | $4.4 billion |
| U.S. | $3.4 billion |
| South/Central America | $2.0 billion |
| Africa | $2.1 billion |
| Oceania | $0.8 billion |
* Sumaila et al.
A year ago at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva, the 164 WTO members “reached consensus” — WTO-speak for agreeing on something with no holdouts — on the first new multilateral trade agreement in a decade. This is the “Agreement on Fishery Subsidies,” a trade/environment accord that “prohibits support for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, bans support for fishing overfished stocks, and ends subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas.”
Where does it stand a year later? Some context first, on fish, ships, and money:
Fish: Last year’s fishery market, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022, totaled about $406 billion at “first sale” (i.e. price on the dock, rather than on the plate) with $151 billion of this from exports. “Capture” marine fishing (i.e., caught from a boat as opposed to farmed) produced about 80 million tons of seafood, a total which has been roughly stable for the last 25 years. (The freshwater catch came to 10 million tons, and aquaculture about 88 million tons.) To put these figures in context, the human race collectively weighs about 500 million tons.
The top fishing countries by the FAO’s tally are China, Indonesia, Peru, India, and Russia, with the U.S., Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, and Norway next. Together, these ten countries catch about half the global “capture fishing” total. China alone, at 13 million tons, makes up about a seventh of the combined marine and freshwater catch, and (see below) is also the largest provider of fishery subsidies. Estimates for the sustainability of this catch often read the data differently, but express similar pessimistic messages. FAO says that “the fraction of fishery stocks within biologically sustainable levels decreased to 64.6% in 2019” (from nearly 90% as of 1974), or in more detail that 35.4% of world fisheries are overfished, 57.3% are at maximum yield, and only 7.2% are “underfished.” The view of the NGO Oceana (not necessarily contradictory in factual terms, but different in emphasis) is that only 17% of fisheries are currently able to produce more fish, and over 80% “cannot withstand additional fishing”.
Ships: The FAO’s report counts 4.1 million fishing vessels on the water in 2022, topped by 2.7 million in Asia and 1 million in Africa. Most are very small, and the total includes 1.5 million sailing or rowing boats. About 45,000, though, are large factory-type ships of lengths over 25 meters and weight above 100 tons. To put this in context, UNCTAD’s World Maritime Review 2022 reports that the world’s cargo fleet comprises 102,899 ships of more than 100 tons. Navies operate about 10,000 boats, while wealthy individuals and businesses sail around in about 10,800 pleasure yachts. So all told, FAO’s figure suggests that about a third of the world’s big ships are large fishing vessels.
It would be nice to think that these large fishing ships are professionally managed and less likely to be involved in IUU or other destructive fishing practices than small boats. But this is not so. One notorious individual case, that of the Vladivostok 2000 — a converted oil tanker said in media reports to be the world’s largest factory fishing vessel — is an example. At 228.6 meters in length and 49,400 tons, it is about twice as large as UNCTAD’s 21,700-ton average for major cargo ships, and can process half a million tons of fish a year. V2K was blacklisted by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization as an IUU vessel ten years ago (under its earlier name Damanzaihao) but continues in operation and is en route this week in the Sea of Okhotsk, traveling from Russia’s Maritime Province to Sakhalin Island.
Subsidies: Estimates of the scale of fishery subsidies are currently about $35.4 billion (as of 2018) — that is, nearly a tenth of “first sale” and a quarter of export value. A detailed look from a research group finds these subsidies heavily concentrated in Asia, where China pumps $7.5 billion into fishery fleets each year and other Asian states add $13 billion more. North America and Europe combine for $8 billion; Latin, Africa, and Pacific subsidies are modest by comparison, combining for a value of about $5 billion. About 80% of subsidies go to large boats and fleets, and 20% to smaller boats and artisanal fisheries. By function, $22 billion goes to ramp up the size of fishing fleets, and $7 billion to subsidize fuel.
Back now to the WTO. Last June’s agreement caps fully 24 years of official negotiating, dating back to the Clinton administration’s adoption of fishery subsidy reduction as a WTO cause in the late 1990s. So, quite an accomplishment for governments, activists, scientists, and responsible industry. On the other hand, reaching a consensus on the text was a milestone rather than a final act, and (setting aside big implementation and enforcement jobs), still has two steps to go:
(1) Ratifications and acceptances: The agreement requires ratification by two-thirds of the WTO’s 164 members to go into effect. Only then will countries be required to start cutting back their fishing-fleet enhancement, fuel, and other subsidy budgets. Seven countries have ratified so far: the United States, Canada, Iceland, the Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
(2) Unsettled issues: Finally, the agreement has a “provisional” quality, as it left some issues unsettled last year. WTO members need to settle these to make it permanent. Especially notable among them is treatment of subsidies related to overcapacity. Once in force the agreement will last only for four years and self-terminate if these remaining questions aren’t settled in future talks.
Counting fish and boats:
FAO’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 reports on fish take, fleets and employment, sustainability and more. A sample, breaking down the 80 million tons of sea catch:
UNCTAD’s World Maritime Review 2022, meanwhile, tracks the world’s merchant fleet.
Negotiators and agreement text:
The WTO’s agreement on fishery subsidies reduction.
A Washington signature ceremony.
Fishery subsidies and sustainability:
Rashid Sumaila et al. in Science Direct tabulate a worldwide $35.4 billion in fishery subsidies by region, purpose, large vs. small ships, and more.
Final thought from the researchers:
“[In the past decade] no real progress to eliminate capacity-enhancing subsidies has been made. For example, fuel subsidies are still the largest subsidy type being provided by countries. This is not good news as this subsidy is the most directly linked to overfishing. A concerted effort by all countries to discipline these subsidies via the WTO or other mechanisms is crucial. … The fact that countries that fall within the high HDI [“high development index,” a UN index of wealth] group, including Russia and China, provided 87% of total global subsidies is telling. It is clear that to discipline subsidies and safeguard marine fisheries, these countries will need to step up.”
Oceana reports that $5.3 billion worth of subsidies, or a fifth of the world total, go to support fleets operating in other countries’ water.
… and reviews depleted, overfished, and sustainable fisheries.
UNCTAD on subsidies, sustainability, and policy.
And “IUU” (illegal, unreported, unregulated) on the water:
Track the notorious Vladivostok 2000, steaming this week from Vladivostok to Sakhalin.
The U.S. Coast Guard vs. a Chinese IUU fleet and its diplomatic defenders in the South Pacific.
And a list, regularly updated, of 352 vessels blacklisted by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations for IUU fishing.
Ed Gresser is Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at PPI.
Ed returns to PPI after working for the think tank from 2001-2011. He most recently served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In this position, he led USTR’s economic research unit from 2015-2021, and chaired the 21-agency Trade Policy Staff Committee.
Ed began his career on Capitol Hill before serving USTR as Policy Advisor to USTR Charlene Barshefsky from 1998 to 2001. He then led PPI’s Trade and Global Markets Project from 2001 to 2011. After PPI, he co-founded and directed the independent think tank Progressive Economy until rejoining USTR in 2015. In 2013, the Washington International Trade Association presented him with its Lighthouse Award, awarded annually to an individual or group for significant contributions to trade policy.
Ed is the author of Freedom from Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy (2007). He has published in a variety of journals and newspapers, and his research has been cited by leading academics and international organizations including the WTO, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. He is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia Universities and a certificate from the Averell Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union.
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