Fisheries, International Trade and Sustainable Development
by ICTSD
Fisheries, Trade and Sustainable Development Series • Policy Discussion Paper
Trade in fish and fishery products has a real potential to advance socio-economic development around the globe. Fish trade has expanded tremendously in recent decades and has almost doubled in the past ten years. Exports flow primarily from developing to developed countries, accounting for up to three-quarters of merchandise exports in some countries. Fisheries provide a source of direct and indirect employment for 200 million people. The vast majority of these people live in the developing world where the sector is dominated by artisanal and small-scale fishing operations. The industry also plays a crucial role in advancing food security, supplying much-needed protein in some of the poorest countries as well as income necessary to purchase food.
This potential, however, has to be placed within the broader context of prevailing viability constraints that – if not addressed – will jeopardise the productivity and survival of the world’s fisheries and the millions of people that depend on them for their livelihoods. With three-quarters of fish resources already under threat, this prospect is becoming a reality in some parts of the globe. Fish trade – where it provides an incentive for increasing fishing efforts beyond sustainable limits in the absence of an effective management regime – clearly exacerbates these pressures. Similarly, fisheries subsidies that have enabled industrial fleets to exploit fishing grounds around the world have significantly contributed to global fish stock declines.
Trade policy can provide a range of tools to help take advantage of opportunities while mitigating some of the pressures. Eco-labelling, for instance, could provide necessary market advantage to compensate for investments in sustainable fisheries. Well-targeted subsidies could foster development of poor fishing communities provided that they do not lead to unsustainable fishing efforts. At the same time, if not designed well, these tools can undermine sustainable development objectives by encouraging over-exploitation, unnecessarily restricting trade and jeopardising livelihoods. Market standards and the use of safeguards continue to prevent the poorest countries in particular from taking advantage of trading opportunities. Fisheries access agreements, where they do not include adequate catch limits and enforcement mechanisms, can lead to the long-term decline of fisheries resources at the expense of local fishermen.
To ensure that fish trade indeed delivers on sustainable development objectives, policy-making at the multilateral, regional and local levels will need to reflect and balance the varied priorities and concerns. To date, however, the policy debate has been characterised by a fragmentation of issues, actors and perspectives. While negotiations on regulating fisheries subsidies have attracted considerable attention at the WTO, other areas with a direct bearing on the fisheries sector – such as market access, non-tariff barriers, and measures taken under multilateral environmental agreements – remain neglected and understudied. Policy responsibilities for the various aspects of the fisheries-trade interface are spread across different ministries and institutions with limited coordination between them. At the same time, many stakeholders – among them those with the greatest stake and interest in the debate, including fishermen, traders, conservationists and fisheries analysts – are frequently not heard and effectively integrated in policy formulation.
As part of the ICTSD project on International Trade, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, this Policy Discussion Paper aims to help foster an inclusive and informed process for crafting multilateral, regional and domestic trade rules and policies in the fisheries sector that are supportive of sustainable development. To this end, the paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the complex set of trade policy issues and tools that bear on the sustainability and development of the fisheries sector. It does so through the lens of sustainable development: How will trade policy tools such as tariffs, subsidies, standards or eco-labelling impact on the pursuit of public policy objectives related to social development, employment and food security? Under what conditions will these tools foster or undermine the long-term viability of fisheries resources? How will the use of the various policy tools influence countries’ ability to secure export revenues and preserve the profitability of the fisheries sector?
This paper is not meant to be an academic exercise nor does it propose specific recommendations; rather, it aims to provide a framework for those making and influencing policies to better understand and analyse how key trade policy issues and tools in fisheries relate to and impact on their sustainable development objectives. By providing a comprehensive yet applied basis for debate and analysis, the paper endeavours to help bridge the divide between the different communities and enable dialogue among the different actors and areas. We would like to encourage our readers to take this document as a starting point for further analysis of their specific fishery and country contexts which will provide the necessary basis for identifying their interests and priorities towards integrated policies and negotiating positions in this area.
We hope that you will find this Policy Discussion Paper to be stimulating and useful reading.