India has sought a 25-year transition period for developing countries to meet their commitments on reduction of subsidies for fishing under the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
India’s stand was made clear by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at the 14th Ministerial Conference of the WTO at a session on future steps to curb fisheries that result in overexploitation.
At Yaounde in Cameroon India also sought stronger disciplines on distant-water industrial fishing fleets, a permanent carve-out for small-scale and artisanal fishers, and subsidy disciplines based on per capita intensity, thereby broadening the scope of discussions on the second phase of fisheries agreement.
The WTO is seeking to build on the first fisheries agreement that came into force in September 2025 and seeks to ban subsidies to vessels or operators engaged in Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
It also prohibits subsidies for fishing specific stocks that are already recognized as overfished.
The second fisheries agreement for which negotiations are starting focuses heavily on reducing subsidies for Distant Water Fishing fleets operating far from home shores. Its central target is curbing subsidies for fuel, boat construction, engines, and modern fish-finding gear that aids overfishing.
India has not signed the first agreement but is actively engaged in discussions on the second agreement too.
At the meeting Goyal emphasised that Phase II negotiations must reflect core principles of equity, including Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for developing countries and Least Developed Countries, as well as the principles of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) and the Polluter Pays Principle.
He also highlighted that India is not a heavily industrialized fishing nation and does not have large-scale, distant-water fleets or heavily mechanized operations. Further, India’s fisheries subsidies are among the lowest in the world—barely about $ 15 per fisher family annually—compared to tens of thousands elsewhere.
India also underscored that the challenge of overcapacity and overfishing arises from heavily subsidised industrial fleets, and not from small-scale fishermen in India and other developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Goyal emphasized that the fisheries sector plays a key role in securing India’s food security and ensuring livelihood, supporting more than 9 million families largely comprising small, traditional, and artisanal fishermen practising sustainable methods.
He also emphasised on India’s proactive and historical conservation efforts, including the annual fishing ban underlining India’s long-standing commitment to sustainability well before it became a global priority.