Don't apply WTO subsidy rules to traditional fishermen, govt urged

Exporters and traders in fisheries-related industries have urged the Department of Commerce [DoC] to protect the interests of fishermen in the ongoing WTO negotiations.

In a work shop on fisheries subsidies organised by the Department of Commerce in Chennai today, the Department of Animal Husbandry, the Dairying and Fisheries Department, UNCTAD, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) said the new rules on fisheries subsidies could seriously jeopardise the future of fishermen in the country.

The proposed WTO rules on fisheries subsidies hold the threat of seriously curtailing India's, as well as that of other developing nations, ability to support traditional fisher folk.

The stake holders asked the government not to apply the new rules to the traditional fishermen of the country. Most of the representatives who participated in the deliberations said the fisheries management system and peer review of scientific assessment of fisheries stock, proposed by WTO, as being onerous, complex and difficult to implement in India.

Most fishermen in the country are resource poor and survive on subsistence-level fishing activities. Pursuant to the Doha Ministerial Declaration, 2001, negotiations on the subsidies are currently taking place at WTO headquarters.

Countries like New Zealand and Chile had proposed a broad prohibition on subsidies, with limited exceptions for developing nations. The fishing sector is heavily subsidised in developing countries. Fuel prices are mainly subsidised.

Cost of fuel accounts for 55-60 per cent of the total operational cost of fishing vessels. In India, traditional fishermen are provided with kerosene at lower prices. A number of nations also demanded strict adherence to the fisheries management system for resource sustainability. These proposals have been strongly resisted by India and many other developing countries.

Jayant Dasgupta, joint secretary, Department of Commerce, said,"The conditionalities attached to invoking the special and differential treatment exemptions are too stringent, impractical and would impede national development and management plans. The fisheries management regimes, in particular, are too onerous for India."

He emphasised the need for India to retain the flexibility to develop marine infrastructure, without being tied to such obligations.

"WTO rules should not prevent the government from providing financial support for encouraging fishing in India's Exclusive Economic Zone, which remains largely under exploited," Dasgupta said.