In a world where 1 billion people depend on fish for protein every day, curbing the loss of 33% of global fish stocks to overexploitation is an urgent task, experts said at the first-ever UN Trade Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, on 10 September.
This as the most intense – and critical – round of negotiations on fisheries subsidies continues in the World Trade Organization (WTO) this month.
The discussions to end certain fisheries subsidies – government support schemes for the fisheries sector – that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfishing and overcapacity have been 20 years in the making and are yet to be finalized.