Fisheries subsidies

Fisheries subsidies

Fisheries subsidies are considered to be government arrangements or inactions that are primarily directed to the fisheries department. These actions and inactions are mainly aimed at modifying by increasing or decreasing all that pertains to fish rearing and production with regard to profits by the market in short or long terms. Fisheries subsidies take two significant forms that include governmental actions and fisheries industry inactions. The governments comprise of public bodies at national and international levels. This would consist of aid and cooperation among institutions that are concerned with fish reserves. The fisheries industry comprises of all productive subsectors concerned with aquaculture. Some of the inputs in this form of fisheries subsidies include storage transport and all other support services.

Harmful fisheries subsidies can have several negative effects on fish resources. These effects may lead to overexploitation of fish stock. There are several ways in which these harmful subsidies can result in these negative impacts. Firstly, with the fisheries subsidies, fishers will increasingly aim at exploring the fish stock at a higher rate that does not correlate with the rate of replenishment. This means that with harmful fisheries subsidies, the stocks will get depleted much faster. Also, harmful fisheries subsidies resulted in the depletion of fish stock as a result of the formulation of bad decisions that got baked into fisheries and maritime policies.

Destructive fisheries subsidies have proven to be a big problem globally. Global institutions and organizations like FAO and WWF have ascertained that the subsidies have gone as high as $ 35 billion globally. This means that much of these funds contribute to overfishing in the international waters. According to FAO, the overfishing has led to declines of fish stocks below sustainable levels. This affects the aquatic ecosystem as well as a decrease in the food supply. In the past decade, organizations like FAO, UNCTAD, and UNEP joined forces to formulate a roadmap that would bring to an end these harmful subsidies. They were supported by more than 90 member states who sought to address main subsidies that contributed to overcapacity and IUU fishing.

Beneficial fisheries subsidies can be described as programs that can result in investing in fish resources without depletion while maximizing the allocation of the resources to society. Some of the most common subsidies in this category include management programs and services, research and development initiatives, corporate social responsibility initiatives. These beneficial fisheries subsidies programs can promote the conservation and growth of fish stock in several ways. Management programs would help in conserving the ecosystem and creating awareness among fishers on the significance of replenishment of stock. Research and development subsidies would be crucial in increasing fish stock through genetic research. Lastly, corporate social responsibility would help fishers engage in diversified activities to avoid depleting fish stock through overfishing.

Japan is one of the global regions where fisheries subsidies have proven to be problematic. In the last decade, Japan has spent over $ 4.6 on fisheries subsidies. Most of the Japanese depend on the pacific waters for livelihood. The country, through the subsidies, has faced instances of overfishing as a result of the building of sophisticated vessels. Towards the quest to achieve Greenpeace and sustainability, the region target its fishery taskforce towards research and development as well as management of stock extraction to enhance fish replenishment in the region with minimum fisheries subsidies.