India Becomes a Party to the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies by Depositing its Instrument of Acceptance

📌 Summary:

• India deposited its Instrument of Acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) on 20 July 2026, becoming the 123rd WTO Member to do so; handed over by Commerce Secretary Shri Rajesh Agrawal to the WTO Director-General

• The AFS was adopted by consensus at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, Geneva, June 2022 — it is the first multilateral WTO agreement with an environmental sustainability objective

• It entered into force on 15 September 2025 after acceptance by two-thirds of WTO Members

• Scope: subsidies for marine wild capture fishing and fishing-related activities at sea. Aquaculture and inland fisheries remain OUTSIDE the Agreement's scope

• Core prohibitions: subsidies linked to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and subsidies for fishing of overfished stocks

• Why it favours India: it disciplines harmful subsidies to large, heavily subsidised industrial fleets of distant water fishing nations, creating a more equitable global regime — India's fisheries are predominantly small-scale and it is not a major industrial fishing participant

• Export angle: enhances India's credibility as a responsible seafood exporter and improves access to premium markets that value sustainability and traceability; since India's seafood exports are dominated by aquaculture-based shrimp (outside AFS scope), export competitiveness is preserved

• Domestic framework supporting implementation: Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Rules, 2025; Guidelines for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas by Indian-Flagged Fishing Vessels, 2025; and capacity-building under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)

• The Agreement provides flexibilities for developing and least-developed country Members, preserving policy space for traditional and small-scale fishers

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (International Relations — multilateral agreements, WTO) and GS3 (Environment — sustainable use of marine resources; Economy — fisheries and subsidies). A classic intersection of trade rules and environmental sustainability, and of India's defence of small-scale fisher livelihoods.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• AFS adopted at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, Geneva, June 2022; entered into force 15 September 2025

• First WTO multilateral agreement with an environmental sustainability objective

• India is the 123rd Member to deposit its Instrument of Acceptance (20 July 2026)

• Aquaculture and inland fisheries are excluded from its scope

• Related domestic instruments: EEZ Fisheries Rules 2025, High Seas Guidelines 2025, PMMSY

🔑 Key Term: IUU Fishing — Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing: fishing conducted in violation of national or international rules, not reported to the relevant authority, or carried out in areas/stocks without applicable conservation measures. Subsidies supporting IUU fishing are prohibited under the AFS.