WTO Commits N12bn For Fisheries Dev’t In Nigeria, Others

The World Trade Organisation is committing about N12 billion ($20m) into fisheries development in Nigeria and other member countries as part of efforts to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies.

The Director General of WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, stated this yesterday in Abuja while on a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

“At the end of World Trade Ministerial Conference, which ended in June, we adopted six major resolutions, but the most important is that which has to do with fisheries subsidies which have been unsuccessful for the past 21 years, but this year we were able to agree on that aspect.

“Consequently, we are committing about $20m to our fisheries fund to fast-track legal fisheries development and curb illegal subsidies.

“Nigeria is part of the deal and I came to ensure implementation is in top gear because it is a crucial step in moving the world’s fisheries toward long-term sustainability and in multilateral efforts to address subsidies that harm the natural environment and the well-being of vulnerable communities,” the WTO DG explained.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala added that with the adoption of the agreement, the WTO now prohibits subsidies for vessels and operators engaged in illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing and establish new rules for subsidies for the fishing of stocks that are already over-exploited.

“It also prohibits subsidies for fishing of stocks on the high seas that are not managed by regional bodies,” she added.

She said the fisheries agreement is part of the six agreements enforced by world trade ministers, while expressing the commitment of the WTO to provide capacity for developing fisheries in the country.

Earlier in her remarks, the minister of state, Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Yalwaji Katagum, said the federal government has already prepared a council note to brief the federal executive council on the implementation process with regard to fisheries development in the country.

She, however, appealed to the WTO DG to assist Nigerian universities with trade policy research to enable them to build capacity for research in the academic environment.

This was just as the former minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy also urged the federal government to expedite action on depositing the Instrument of Acceptance on the fisheries agreements which were negotiated at the MC 12 in which the Nigerian delegation headed by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Maryam Katagum, participated actively to press for reforms in the fisheries sector.

Okonjo-Iweala said following the agreements reached by member countries in the areas of fisheries, at the Geneva meeting, Nigeria would need to ensure the deposit of its Instrument of Acceptance, particularly the legal framework leading to acceptance.

She said the deals required two-thirds of member countries to deposit their instruments of acceptance for the agreement to come into effect.

She said, “It needs not to take time and that is what I am here to urge that this be done quickly and we are trying to urge all the countries to do it because we need two-thirds of countries to deposit their instruments of acceptance for the agreement to come into effect.

“If it (new fisheries agreement) comes into effect, it means that when you catch people doing unreported and unregulated fishing, they can be held accountable.

“WTO has a dispute settlement system and that’s what many members don’t want to be brought there for not obeying the rules. So that’s deterrence and it’s only one of its kinds that exist in the world.

“We are trying to reform it but it is in existence – and countries don’t want to be brought there by other countries.

“From what I understand, the work and thinking on how to deposit the instrument have already begun and so I am very happy about that.”

She said she was absolutely proud of the performance of the Nigerian delegation who took an active role even though it was a difficult session negotiating the agreements with other members.

Okonjo-Iweala said the fisheries subsidies agreement was particularly exciting to Nigeria and the world at large because “for 21 years, the WTO has tried to negotiate this agreement among all the ministers in the world and it hasn’t happened. We were able to pull it through – thanks be to God for that”.

She said the “agreement tries to stop something that is harmful to the sustainability to the world’s fisheries which are harmful subsidies that allow nations to over-fish the oceans of the world. So overfishing, illegal fishing and unreported fishing – we know it takes place on our waters.

“This is a very big problem for the world because 260 million people worldwide depend directly on fisheries; 12 million people in Africa and if we don’t stop these harmful subsidies, that means fisheries would be depleted.”

The WTO DG said in 1970, seven per cent of fish stocks were overfished, a figure which rose to about 35 per cent by 2015. She said the world is almost at 50 per cent of its fishing stock currently.

She said the trend was mostly in developing countries that lacked the capacity to monitor the happenings adding that the agreement seeks to curb the subsidies that allows this to take place.

Katagum, however, commend the DG WTO for her leadership and tenacity that led to the positive outcomes at the recently concluded MC12, adding that the outcomes had been rightly described as unprecedented – and attested to the visionary leadership provided by Okonjo-Iweala in her capacity as the DG.

The minister said, “Nigeria welcomes the outcomes of the MC12 and notes the great progress that the MC12 made. We note, however, that we must not rest on our oars but should take this success recorded at the MC12 as a sign that with the right leadership, a lot can be done and we must build on this momentum to make progress in all other outstanding areas of work at the WTO.”

Katagum said, on return from Geneva, she immediately notified President Muhammadu Buhari about the outcomes of the meeting adding that “we are in the process of preparing a Council Note to inform the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of the outcome and the steps that need to be taken to ensure timely and effective implementation of these outcomes.”

She explained that among the raft of decisions reached, the ministry, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, has met to specifically consider the agreement on fisheries subsidies and deliberated on how Nigeria can implement the agreement while also taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the newly created WTO Fish Fund.

Essentially, the minister said the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sets new global rules to curb harmful subsidies and protect global fish stocks in a manner that also recognizes the needs of fishers in developing and least-developed countries (LDCs). Among its key features is the sustainability of the environment, which is a first for WTO agreements.

She noted that technical assistance and capacity-building needs are essential for Nigeria to implement the disciplines in the agreement while also enhancing environmental sustainability which is the core of the agreement.

She said, “The Agreement is a great milestone because it enhances food security and increases the source of livelihood particularly, for lower-income families in rural and coastal areas. Nigeria will take all the necessary steps for the acceptance of the protocol and depositing the instrument of ratification.

Katagum also said Nigeria would also engage constructively with the Membership towards extending the MC 12 decision on the TRIPS Agreement to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics as envisaged under paragraph 8 of the decision.

Among other things, she said, “We will also be playing a constructive role in the negotiations on Fisheries Subsidies, especially with regards to the outstanding issues of forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing. This is to ensure that we adopt comprehensive disciplines on Fisheries Subsidies before the four years envisaged in the decision.”