Fisheries Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8907, Japan
The Doha Ministerial Declaration, adopted at the WTO Ministerial Conference in 2001, agreed to start negotiations aimed at clarifying and improving discipline on fisheries subsidies, taking into account the importance of this sector to developing countries. The Negotiation Group on Rules has regularly met in Geneva to fulfill the mandate. So far, there was broad agreement that the Group should strengthen discipline through the prohibition of certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and over-fishing. However, several unresolved issues can be still identified. One is an issue on sustainable development. Specifically, the question “to what extent the WTO should incorporate the element of fishery resource conservation into its new discipline of fisheries subsidies” remains unresolved. This paper reviews current developments on the issue of fisheries subsidies discussed at the WTO, OECD, and other relevant international organizations.