CTIL Webinar Examines WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement & Implementation Challenges

New Delhi, Sep 23 (KNN) The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, organised a webinar on September 21 to discuss the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS), notification requirements and ongoing negotiations on overcapacity and overfishing.

The webinar followed India’s ratification of the AFS on July 20, 2026, and was held during WTO Fish Week. Experts discussed the practical challenges of implementing the agreement, including fisheries data, monitoring and reporting systems, institutional coordination and technical capacity.

The AFS, adopted at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022, establishes rules on certain harmful fisheries subsidies, including those linked to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfished stocks subject to specified rebuilding conditions, and fishing on the unregulated high seas.

Discussions also covered notification and transparency requirements, special and differential treatment for developing countries, domestic institutional preparedness, vessel registration, IUU-related determinations and the concerns of small-scale and artisanal fisheries.

The webinar also examined ongoing WTO negotiations on additional disciplines concerning overcapacity and overfishing and the need for continued capacity building and technical assistance for developing and least-developed countries.

(KNN Bureau)