Ø Aquaculture
and Inland Fisheries Remain Outside Scope of WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement
Ø WTO Fisheries
Subsidies Agreement Enhances India's Credibility as Responsible Seafood
Exporter
·
India deposited its Instrument of
Acceptance for the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) on 20
July 2026, becoming the 123rd WTO Member to join the Agreement.
·
The Instrument of Acceptance was handed over by Commerce
Secretary Rajesh Agrawal to the WTO Director-General.
·
The Agreement, adopted at the 12th WTO Ministerial
Conference (MC12) in June 2022, is the first WTO agreement
focused on environmental sustainability.
·
The Agreement entered into force on 15 September
2025 after acceptance by two-thirds of WTO Members.
·
It prohibits subsidies supporting:
o
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing
o
Fishing of overfished stocks
o
Harmful fishing practices that deplete marine
resources.
·
Aquaculture and inland fisheries are outside the scope of the
Agreement, ensuring India's shrimp aquaculture sector remains unaffected.
·
The Agreement supports traditional and small-scale
fishers by discouraging harmful subsidies to large industrial fishing
fleets.
·
India's accession is expected to strengthen its
reputation as a responsible seafood exporter and improve access to
sustainability-focused international markets.
·
India already has a strong fisheries management
framework through:
o
Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the EEZ Rules,
2025
o
High Seas Fisheries Guidelines, 2025
o
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and other
conservation initiatives.
·
India stated that its domestic policies are aligned
with the Agreement while protecting the interests of traditional and
small-scale fishers.
·
By joining the Agreement, India reaffirmed its
commitment to sustainable fisheries, marine resource conservation,
and the rules-based multilateral trading system under the WTO.
[ABS News Service/21.07.2026]
India has
deposited its Instrument of Acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries
Subsidies (AFS) on 20th July 2026, thereby becoming a Party to the Agreement.
The Instrument of Acceptance was formally handed over by the Commerce
Secretary, Government of India, Shri Rajesh Agrawal to the
Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). India's decision
reaffirms the country's commitment to sustainable fisheries management while
preserving marine resources as a source of food security, livelihoods and
employment for coastal communities.
The WTO
Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted by consensus at the 12th WTO
Ministerial Conference in Geneva in June 2022, is the first multilateral WTO
agreement with an environmental sustainability objective. It prohibits
government support to illegal fishing activities and overexploitation of
stocks, contributing to the protection of marine life. The Agreement entered
into force on 15 September 2025 after acceptance by two-thirds of WTO Members.
India is the
123rd Member of the WTO to deposit its Instrument of Acceptance. The Agreement
focuses on subsidies related to marine wild capture fishing and fishing-related
activities at sea. Importantly, aquaculture and inland fisheries remain outside
the scope of this Agreement.
The Agreement
protects the livelihoods of traditional and small-scale fishers by promoting
sustainable fisheries. It prohibits subsidies linked to illegal, unreported and
unregulated (IUU) fishing and fishing of overfished stocks, thereby addressing
unsustainable fishing practices that threaten marine resources and safeguarding
the long-term interests of traditional and small-scale fishing communities. It
also creates a more equitable global fisheries regime by disciplining harmful
subsidies that support large, heavily subsidised industrial fishing fleets
operated by distant water fishing nations. This benefits countries like India,
where fisheries are predominantly small-scale and which are not major
participants in industrial fishing.
The Agreement
further enhances India's credibility as a responsible seafood exporter, thereby
supporting improved access to premium markets that increasingly value
sustainability and traceability. At the same time, the predominance of
aquaculture-based shrimp in India's seafood exports, which falls outside the
scope of the Agreement, ensures the continued resilience and competitiveness of
the country's seafood export sector.
India has a
robust fisheries management framework, strengthened through the Sustainable
Harnessing of Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Rules, 2025 and
the Guidelines for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas by
Indian-Flagged Fishing Vessels, 2025. These measures, together with the ongoing
capacity-building initiatives under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana
(PMMSY) and other fisheries management, monitoring and conservation programmes,
provide a strong foundation for the effective implementation of the Agreement.
These regulatory, institutional and developmental ecosystem positions India to
implement the Agreement effectively while preserving policy space for
traditional and small-scale fishers.
The WTO
Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies seeks to promote the conservation and
sustainable use of marine fisheries resources while providing appropriate
flexibilities for developing and least-developed country Members.
India's
acceptance of the Agreement reflects its commitment to sustainable fisheries
management and responsible marine resource governance. India's domestic
fisheries management framework is in alignment with the Agreement and
safeguards the interests of traditional and small-scale fishers while
contributing to global efforts to promote sustainable fisheries. Above all, by
becoming a party to this Agreement, India reinforces its unwavering commitment
to the rules-based trading system with the WTO at its core.