The World Trade Organisation (WTO) organised a Regional Workshop on Fisheries Subsidies for the Asia Region from May 23 to 25 in Kuala Lumpur to enhance understanding of the fisheries subsidies agreement.

In a joint statement from the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM), the objective of the workshop is to provide deeper comprehension of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted during the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) held from June 12 to 17, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland.

"The agreement sets out disciplines to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and in respect of overfished stocks.

"To safeguard the livelihood of small-scale and artisanal fishers, the agreement also provides certain exemptions to fishers in developing and least-developed WTO member countries," according to the statement.

Furthermore, the WTO member countries are also currently negotiating additional provisions to be included in the agreement to outline disciplines to curb fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.

The workshop was jointly officiated by WTO deputy director-general Angela Paolini Ellard and MITI secretary-general Datuk Seri Isham Ishak.

 - Bernama