Iceland's Minister of Industry, Hanna Katrín Friðriksson and EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis.
Photo: European Commission / Xavier Lejeune.
The European Union and Iceland have welcomed the entry into force this week of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, the first multilateral trade agreement focusing specifically on sustainability.
The agreement officially came into effect on 15 September after 111 WTO members ratified the deal, surpassing the required two-thirds threshold. It introduces binding international rules to prohibit subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfishing of vulnerable stocks, and fishing on the unregulated high seas.
The agreement also includes provisions on the harmful reflagging of fishing vessels to other jurisdictions, and new obligations for extensive transparency and notifications in order to monitor implementation.
The European Commission described the deal as a “major milestone”, achieved following two decades of negotiations. In a statement, it said the agreement would “significantly reduce overfishing, ensure sustainable fisheries and promote better practices for coastal communities worldwide”.
The EU emphasised its role as one of the earliest ratifiers and a leading contributor to the WTO Fish Fund, which supports developing and least-developed countries in implementing the agreement. The bloc also urged other major fishing nations that have not yet ratified to do so quickly.
Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, said: “The EU played a key role in reaching this landmark WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. This is the first ever multilateral trade agreement to focus on sustainability and will help to restore fish stocks across the world. It shows that the WTO can deliver solutions for today’s sustainability challenges and it underlines that multilateral cooperation is indispensable to tackle other global challenges.”
“The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is crucial for ensuring that fisheries subsidies take sustainability as their core objective. This landmark agreement is a key deliverable of our ambition to protect the ocean, as embodied in our European Ocean Pact," added Costas Kadis, Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, added.
"It will provide additional means to tackle harmful practices such as illegal fishing and avoid harming the ocean and fish stocks on which the livelihoods of coastal communities around the world depend. Along with initiatives such as the United Nations’ High Seas Treaty, the WTO agreement is another major step towards saving our ocean," Kadis said.
Iceland also issued a statement supporting the agreement, and highlighting its own role in launching and steering negotiations. The country was among the first to ratify the deal, doing so in May 2023.
Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the agreement as a “major milestone that contributes to the sustainability of the oceans and creates a foundation for more responsible exploitation of fish stocks globally.”
She added that Iceland’s experience with sustainable fisheries management showed it was possible to balance environmental protection and economic growth, saying the country now had the opportunity to “share that experience and make our contribution to future generations.”
Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir addressed the WTO ceremony via teleconference, joining other world leaders to mark the agreement’s entry into force. Iceland’s ambassador to Geneva, Einar Gunnarsson, chaired the WTO negotiation committee between 2022 and 2025, officials pointed out.
The Icelandic government said it would play an active role in assisting developing countries to meet the agreement’s requirements and called for continued discussions on additional rules targeting subsidies that lead to overcapacity and overfishing.