WTO's sixth "Fish Week" began on 9 October, shifting to text-based negotiations on overcapacity and overfishing subsidies. With the Senior Officials Meeting set for 23-24 October and the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) on 26-29 February 2024, intensification in talks is evident.
Director-General Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the upcoming Senior Officials Meeting as a crucial guidance gathering event, expressing optimism for a positive outcome at MC13. Recalling last year's historic Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at MC12, she urged members to finalize the remaining sections, promising full support from the Secretariat.
Ambassador Gunnarsson of Iceland emphasized this week's discussions to center around suggestions for amending the draft text he released last month. His goal is a complete review of the text with specific amendment recommendations.
“I can tell you we are really turning up the heat,” the chair said, noting that arrangements have been made to extend into evening sessions this week if necessary. “Our main objective is to complete a full read-through of the text, collecting specific suggested amendments as we go through the Agreement provision by provision.”
Okonjo-Iweala also prompted members to approve the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies during the upcoming Senior Officials Meeting. 43 members have accepted to date, but two-thirds approval is needed for enforcement.
The 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022 resulted in a landmark Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, focusing on prohibiting illegal fishing and ending high seas subsidies. The current negotiations aim to address remaining issues, mainly on overfishing and overcapacity subsidies.
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