Promoting sustainable fishing: from the perspective of Fisheries Funding Mechanism under the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
- 1School of Law, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- 2School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
- 3Faculty of Business Administration, University of Macau, Macau, China
Abstract
With widespread depletion of the world’s marine resources, the sustainable fishing has risen more and more concern on a global scale. After rounds of hard negotiations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) on June 17, 2022. This agreement came into force on September 15, 2025. It aims to promote ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies. Recognizing the factual constraints and development needs of some developing country Members, the AFS provides Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) for them. According to Article 7 of the AFS, the WTO established a Fisheries Funding Mechanism to provide developing and least developed country (LDC) Members with targeted technical assistance and capacity building for the purpose of implementing the disciplines under the Agreement. By normative analysis and interdisciplinary approach, this study reviews this Funding Mechanism and determines potential operational challenges, including unpredictable financing, administrative and technical access barriers, vague prioritization and allocation procedures, monitoring, evaluation and learning gaps, and coordination risks. It further proposes certain refinements to enhance transparency, access, and long-term effectiveness. These include clearer prioritization criteria, simplified application procedures, more reliable funding sources, and stronger monitoring and coordination frameworks. A well-functioning assistance system will offer technical and financial aid to support countries in need, enable them to build their national capacity, therefore better complying with the fisheries subsidy disciplines while ensuring their sufficient development space, ultimately helping to achieve the goal of marine sustainable development.
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BibTeX
@article{bai2026promoting,
title = {{Promoting sustainable fishing: from the perspective of Fisheries Funding Mechanism under the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies}},
author = {Jiayu Bai and Muyun Guo and Min Zhao},
journal = {Frontiers in Marine Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmars.2025.1699171},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1699171},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Promoting sustainable fishing: from the perspective of Fisheries Funding Mechanism under the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
AU - Jiayu Bai
AU - Muyun Guo
AU - Min Zhao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Frontiers in Marine Science
DO - 10.3389/fmars.2025.1699171
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1699171
AB - With widespread depletion of the world’s marine resources, the sustainable fishing has risen more and more concern on a global scale. After rounds of hard negotiations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) on June 17, 2022. This agreement came into force on September 15, 2025. It aims to promote ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies. Recognizing the factual constraints and development needs of some developing country Members, the AFS provides Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) for them. According to Article 7 of the AFS, the WTO established a Fisheries Funding Mechanism to provide developing and least developed country (LDC) Members with targeted technical assistance and capacity building for the purpose of implementing the disciplines under the Agreement. By normative analysis and interdisciplinary approach, this study reviews this Funding Mechanism and determines potential operational challenges, including unpredictable financing, administrative and technical access barriers, vague prioritization and allocation procedures, monitoring, evaluation and learning gaps, and coordination risks. It further proposes certain refinements to enhance transparency, access, and long-term effectiveness. These include clearer prioritization criteria, simplified application procedures, more reliable funding sources, and stronger monitoring and coordination frameworks. A well-functioning assistance system will offer technical and financial aid to support countries in need, enable them to build their national capacity, therefore better complying with the fisheries subsidy disciplines while ensuring their sufficient development space, ultimately helping to achieve the goal of marine sustainable development.
SN - 2296-7745
ER -