Representatives of small-scale fishing communities say they are struggling to stay afloat.
Advocates for fisherfolk in countries from India to Indonesia say they are often living below the breadline and cutting subsidies abruptly is not the answer.
Speaking during the World Trade Organisation's Ministerial Conference event in Abu Dhabi, they say small-scale fishermen are not causing the depletion of stocks; subsidies they receive are crucial for their survival; and the main drivers of overfishing – larger industrial-scale fleets – need to be tackled properly.
We need to find a mechanism to address the very serious decline of fish stocks
Marco Forgione,
international trade expert
“The negotiations with respect to fisheries play a very important role, simply because out of almost 100 million fishermen in India, both directly and indirectly involved, 60 per cent live below the poverty line,” said Olencio Simoes, general secretary of the National Fishworkers' Forum based in Goa, who campaigns for the livelihood of the marginalised workers.
“We are on the poverty line," he said. "We need to come out from the poverty line first. It is a matter of survival.”
Fishing subsidies are in the spotlight at the four-day event, where negotiators are trying to clinch a deal to safeguard fishing stocks, as billions of dollars a year are spent on acts that are widely seen as encouraging inefficient and harmful practices.
At least 34 per cent of global stocks are overfished, the WTO said. Compounding this is the fact they often go to the larger trawlers that take huge catches threatening stocks over small-scale fisheries that bolster local livelihoods and often use more sustainable practices.
The 164-member WTO in 2022 agreed on a landmark deal to prohibit subsidies on such practices as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It still needs to be formally ratified by two-thirds of its members, but that is thought likely soon.
A fresh round of talks under way in Abu Dhabi is focused on subsidies surrounding overcapacity and overfishing, along with addressing the needs of developing and underdeveloped country members.
Advocates who spoke to The National, however, say it is not small fisherman causing the problem. Mr Simoes said small-scale coastal fishing communities he worked with are under pressure trying to compete with huge trawlers and are also reeling from “industrial pollution”, port expansions and extreme weather such as cyclones that can disrupt fishing patterns.
“Sewage, which is dumped into the ocean, is one of the big contributors," he said.
Mr Simoes painted a difficult picture of life on the ground for small-scale fishermen in Goa where sail boats are used often.
He said families are applying for Portuguese passports and giving up on the tradition, referring to how certain citizens of Goa can apply for a passport owing to its history as a colony of the European country, and that the oceans will be exploited further if small-scale fishermen are forced out.
“All we want is that our subsidies cannot stop," he added.
Fikerman Saragih, of the Kiara fisherfolk organisation in Indonesia, said his community was facing similar issues, with small fishermen trying to compete with the larger trawlers.
He highlighted other problems such as land reclamation for the tourist industry, sea mining for metals and climate change.
“I think it's a hard situation,” said Mr Saragih, calling for subsidies to stay. "Small-scale fisheries only catch to eat fish and can sell just a few kilos."
Adam Wolfenden, a campaigner from the Pacific Network on Globalisation, said there was "good will" at the talks, tempered by concern they will fall short and "fail to rein in the problem of large-scale fishing".
"There isn't enough focus on prohibitions for those fleets that are part of the problem of overfishing," said Mr Wolfenden.
"We see a lot of concerns around distant-water fishing. A lot of that fishing is reliant upon subsidies.
"There has been talk to make the prohibitions target large-scale fleets. Unfortunately that has largely been pushed back against by, unsurprisingly, those countries with large-scale fleets."
Negotiators in Abu Dhabi are trying to bridge the gap and address the concerns of developing and least-developed country members.
“Subsidies are by their very nature market-distorting,” said Marco Forgione, an international trade expert and director general of the Institute of Export and International Trade.
“The aim of the WTO is to establish an agreement whereby there is not an incentive to overfish, which is what subsidies tend to provide,” he said.
Mr Forgione said he had “great sympathy” for the point the small-scale fishing representatives were making, as they were “disproportionately affected” with overfishing “primarily down to the large-scale industrial fishing”.
“We back the principle of the removal of subsidies. But we do need to look at how we support the development of those small-scale fisher people who are impacted … to encourage them to undertake their activities sustainably but without it being a market-distorted intervention,” said Mr Forgione.
“We need to find a mechanism to address the very serious decline of fish stocks.”
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Read more about the coronavirus
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETamer%20Ruggli%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadine%20Labaki%2C%20Fanny%20Ardant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Company%C2%A0profile
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The five pillars of Islam
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
