Conclusion

Abstract

AbstractThis study has probed into the magnitude of the fisheries subsidies issue. We have looked at the negative impacts of fisheries subsidies on trade, the environment and sustainable development. These show no signs of abating, because subsidies are continuously fed by a seemingly bottomless source of government funds to the fishing industry, reaching the unprecedented level of approximately 20 percent of the total global revenues of the fisheries sector. This has led to the creation of fleet overcapacity and overfishing, ultimately resulting in the depletion of fish stocks; and if left to run its course uncontrolled, could in the end bring about the extinction of certain species, the destruction of the marine habitat and the devastation of coastal fishing communities whose livelihoods depend on those fisheries. The reason for this state of affairs is that there is no single instrument in international law which can effectively control fisheries subsidies. The instruments that exist at this time are either voluntary in nature or were not designed to target the unique characteristics of fisheries subsidies.KeywordsSustainable DevelopmentInternational CommunityFish StockGovernment FundMarine HabitatThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.