The oceans are under siege, campaigners warn, and fish stocks could collapse unless a global deal is struck swiftly to ban harmful fisheries subsidies. The World Trade Organization, meanwhile, can’t agree on who will head the committee to discuss the issue, according to sources close to the negotiations.
More than 90 percent of fish stocks are at maximum sustainable levels or overfished, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and environmentalists say a subsidies deal is needed quickly to protect those remaining.