Fishing Subsidies

Videos

Mainstream News

• End fishing subsidies to save fish, U.S. urges – NBC News
• Government Subsidies Encourage Dangerous Overfishing – Bloomberg
• How the world subsidizes overfishing, in two charts – Vox
• Putting an end to billions in fishing subsidies could improve fish stocks and ocean health – Phys
• The race to fish- how fishing subsidies are emptying our oceans – The Conversation
• The World Can’t Keep Fishing Like This – Subsidized Ocean Fishing Threatens the Sea’s Bounty – The New York Times

Independent News

• 5 ways harmful fisheries subsidies impact coastal communities – WWF
• 25 Reasons Why the WTO Must End Subsidies That Drive Overfishing – International Institute for Sustainable Development
• Billions in fishing subsidies finance social, ecological harm, report finds – Mongabay
• Fishing Subsidies Are Speeding the Decline of Ocean Health – The Pew Charitable Trusts

  • More than 1 billion people worldwide depend on seafood as a main source of protein, and about 100 million people rely directly on fishing for their income. Yet according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 report, 93 percent of marine fisheries worldwide are fished at or beyond sustainable catch levels.

  • Fisheries subsidies are one of the key drivers behind this decline in fish stocks. Governments pay around $20 billion each year in damaging types of fisheries subsidies, primarily to industrial fishers, to offset costs such as fuel, gear, and vessel construction. Although not all subsidies are harmful, many encourage fishing beyond sustainable biological limits by helping vessels go farther and fish for longer periods and with greater capacity than they would without this assistance. Today, in part driven by fisheries subsidies, global fishing capacity—the total capability of the world’s fleets—is estimated at 250 percent of the level that would bring in the maximum sustainable catch.

  • The resulting overfishing is a threat not only to fish stocks but also to the health of the ocean and, by extension, all who rely on it. Healthy fish stocks are vital to functioning marine ecosystems and to the food security and livelihoods of billions of people and can help the ocean better withstand a range of stresses, including climate change.

• Many government subsidies lead to overfishing. Here’s a solution. – OECD
• On The Hook- Commercial Fishing Reaps Billions – EWG
• Subsidies promote overfishing and hurt small-scale fishers worldwide – ScienceDaily

Reports

• Tracking Harmful Fisheries Subsidies – Oceana

Academic Papers

• Global fisheries subsidies- An updated estimate – ScienceDirect
• Quantification of U.S. Marine Fisheries Subsidies- North American Journal of Fisheries Management – Sci-Hub.se
• Updated estimates and analysis of global fisheries subsidies – ScienceDirect

Websites

• #StopFundingOverfishing – Now is the time for action