WTO To Commit N12bn To Curb Illegal Fisheries In Nigeria Waters

The World Trade Organisation has committed about N12 billion ($20m) into fisheries development in Nigeria and other member countries as part of efforts to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies.

 

The Director General of WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, stated this  in Abuja while on a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

 

 

She noted “At the end of World Trade Ministerial Conference, which ended in June, we adopted six major resolutions, but the most important is that which has to do with fisheries subsidies which have been unsuccessful for the past 21 years, but this year we were able to agree on that aspect.

 

“Consequently, we are committing about $20m to our fisheries fund to fast-track legal fisheries development and curb illegal subsidies.

 

“Nigeria is part of the deal and I came to ensure implementation is in top gear because it is a crucial step in moving the world’s fisheries toward long-term sustainability and in multilateral efforts to address subsidies that harm the natural environment and the well-being of vulnerable communities,” the WTO DG explained.

 

 

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala added that with the adoption of the agreement, the WTO now prohibits subsidies for vessels and operators engaged in illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing and establish new rules for subsidies for the fishing of stocks that are already over-exploited.

 

“It also prohibits subsidies for fishing of stocks on the high seas that are not managed by regional bodies,” she added.

 

She said the fisheries agreement is part of the six agreements enforced by world trade ministers, while expressing the commitment of the WTO to provide capacity for developing fisheries in the country.

 

Earlier in her remarks, the minister of state, Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Yalwaji Katagum, said the federal government has already prepared a council note to brief the federal executive council on the implementation process with regard to fisheries development in the country.

 

She, however, appealed to the WTO DG to assist Nigerian universities with trade policy research to enable them to build capacity for research in the academic environment.

 

By Kachi Victor