The World Trade Organization has been struggling for over two decades to reach an agreement among its members to restrict global subsidies to the fishing industry that are pushing some fish stocks to the (1) _________ of collapse. As recently as last November, trade negotiators seemed poised to rein in these subsidies, (2) _________ a spike in Covid-19 delayed the deal. Now the question is (3) _________ an agreement can still be reached when trade ministers from the W.T.O.’s members, representing most of the world’s nations, gather in Geneva for several days of meetings, beginning Sunday. The session comes as some of the world’s fish stocks continue to (4) _________ from rampant overfishing that threatens ftheir sustainability. Success at the W.T.O. always requires U.S. leadership. But it also will require that the world’s largest financial enablers of harmful fishing, (5) _________ China and the European Union, end their devastating handouts.
These include so-called capacity enhancing subsidies for fuel, vessel construction and modernization, the building of fishing ports and processing plants, as well as foreign access agreements that allow countries to fish in other nations’ waters for a fee once they’ve (6) _________ their domestic fish supplies. This government support enables ships to range farther, remain (7) _________ sea longer and catch and process more fish than they otherwise could afford to do. Worldwide, those harmful subsidies amount to an estimated $22 billion a year, according to a study (8) _________ in the journal Marine Policy in 2019.
Fisheries can be a (9) _________ source of food and jobs, but only if they are harvested in a sustainable manner. Recognizing this, some leaders from the seafood retail sector are increasingly (10) _________ for an end to harmful fisheries subsidies, to ensure the longevity of their supply chains and to respond to consumer demand for fish that is sustainably, responsibly and legally caught.
