Dr Ngozi Okonjo-iweala, the Director -General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), has said that agreement to remove subsidy on fisheries would help sustain fishery globally.
Okonjo-iweala said this when she paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Industry Trade and Investment on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to the DG , there is subsidy that allows nation’s with large oceans to over fish globally and the WTO has been trying to negotiate the agreement on fisheries for twenty one years.
She said that if the subsidy was not stopped fisheries would be depleted adding that recent study has shown that there is almost 50 per cent of over fishing of fish stock.
She said that about 260 million people globally and 12 million in Africa directly or indirectly depended on fisheries.
” It is mainly the developing countries that do not have the capacity to monitor the waters where there is lots of reported fisheries.
” We need to rectify the agreement and deposit instrument of acceptance for this particular agreement and we need two third of countries globally to deposit its instrument of acceptance for the agreement to come into effect.
” I would like my country Nigeria to be the first or second to deposit their agreement..
” Time line of agreement takes two to three years but I said it should be between six to nine months to enable us get desired results.
“We need to act fast , the agreement deals with the unregulated, illegal and unreported fishery , it is a very good agreement, you can not subsidise this kind of fishery.
” Countries and members who are doing these things have to stop because we have an agreement now, ” she said.
According to.her, for the agreement to be beneficial, there is need to improve on capacity to implement the agreement as well improve management capacity for fisheries.
” We have identified key points in article seven is what I push because many developing countries do not have the capacity needed to manage their fishries and that is the reason illegal fishry goes on in the waters .
” We started with $20mll fund and we have already mobilised $5mll and will continue to mobilise because it is a rolling fund .
” This is to enable developing countries build capacity for fisheries management under the agreement and we need to work together to put it into a document concept and finalise the structure over fisheries fund, ” she added.
The DG however said that the agreement also fulfils the instructions of the United Nations Secretary General and the General Assembly for sustainable development goal 1446.
She said that the WTO was mandated to deliver by concluding the agreement , therefore pledged to strengthen and deepen the agreement.
Speaking Earlier, Amb. Marian Katagum , the Minister of state for Industry Trade and Investment said the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sets new global rules to curb harmful subsidies
She added that it would also protect global fish stocks in a manner that also recognises the needs of fishers in developing and least-developed countries
She said that the Agreement was a great milestone adding that it enhances food security and increased source of livelihood particularly, for lower income families in rural and coastal areas.
According to her, Nigeria will take all the necessary steps for the acceptance of the protocol and depositing the instrument of ratification.
“We will 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 a comprehensive disciplines on Fisheries Subsidies before the four years envisaged in the decision, “she said
She said that it was important to build the capacity of relevant institutions, ministries and colleges of fisheries in the determination of overfished stock in the Nigerian waters.
She said that this was based on best scientific evidence which would trigger the prohibition in Article four of the Agreement.
The Minister added that developing capacity in the calculation of a Biologically stainable level (BSL) for a stock and the demonstration that subsidies would promote sufficient stock rebuilding.
“Technical Assistance in the development of fisheries management program that maintained stocks at sustainable levels is also important
“The needed assistance includes WTO funded National Programmes which may comprise Workshops on the implementation on covered Agreements.
” We are also in need of Assistance to Nigerian Universities in the field of Trade Policy Research, and other Technical Assistance programme offered by the WTO,” she said. Katagum, therefore assured of Nigerias continued support adding that the Nigeria Trade Office to the WTO in Geneva would continue to engage constructively with the WTO Membership
