Fishery subsidy exemptions seen as double-edged

THE PHILIPPINES should be wary of proposals exempting poor countries from cutting their fishery subsidies at the ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) talks if it wants to secure global stocks, international advocacy group Oceana said last week.

Draft deals separately submitted by Japan and Canada, while kind to developing WTO members, could allow emerging economies to overexploit seas shared with Filipino fishermen, the group warned.

“The Philippines is sort of in the middle of the debate,” Peter Allgeier, Oceana advisor and former United States ambassador to the WTO, told BusinessWorld at the close of two weeks of talks held in line with revived efforts to conclude the multi-issue Doha round.

Members agreed back in 2005 that cuts to government funding for fishing would be part of the global trade deal, with nearly 80% of world fish stocks nearly depleted based on Food and Agriculture Organization estimates.

Manila has aligned itself with an informal grouping dubbed “Friends of Fish” which argues that subsidies are partly to blame, but has also raised issue over the need to continue supporting its small scale fishermen.

“The Philippines does want certain flexibility. But the Philippines should be concerned about big fishing fleets from China. You’ve got someone with big subsidies catching fish just outside your economic zone,” Mr. Allgeier said in a telephone interview.

Japan, a skeptic of slashing fishery subsidies, has agreed to a proposed discipline that would list types of prohibited state funding but also wants “extensive” exceptions cited as well, Mr. Allgeier said.

It has argued, for instance, that members “who do not have problems with their fisheries management” should be exempted from commitments to cut subsidies as “limited” knowledge on this pioneering deal could cause “considerable confusion” in its implementation, Japan stated in a Jan. 17 communique obtained by BusinessWorld.

“In addition, taking into account the nature of the Doha Development Agenda, particular attention should be paid to the development needs of developing Members,” Japan said.

This tack, however, “would really undercut the prohibitions”, Mr. Allgeier said as it would exempt the likes of China.

“If you talk about China as a developing country, its not developing in industrial fishing. Its one of the highest subsidizers of high sea fleets,” he said.

He likewise opposed Canada’s proposal for all members to have a minimum level of allowable subsidies.

Members should instead consider getting behind Chile and Argentina’s proposal which cedes special treatment for developing countries “without so much undercutting” the ultimate aim of slashing subsidies, Mr. Allgeier said.

The joint paper from these Latin American countries, dated Jan. 26, recognizes that “the term developing countries encompasses a group of economies with diverse productive and financial capabilities”. It argues for strict disciplines on financial aid as flexibilities to these countries could still result in overfishing “and would therefore have a contrary effect to [the aim of] facilitating Members’ social and economic development”.

Sought for comment, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the Philippine could be amenable to the stricter proposal on fishing subsidies as state funding is channeled post-harvest facilities and not to programs that increase fishing capacity.

“We don’t really have subsidies for fishing. It won’t hurt us. We’re more for improving post-harvest facilities like cold storage,” Mr. Alcala said in a telephone interview on Saturday.

“And we’re more aggressive towards aquaculture,” he added. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa. Businessworld