ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the fisheries subsidies issue in its broader context, looking first at the economic values at stake in the fisheries sector and then at the basic elements of international fisheries governance through which the international community has begun to confront the overfishing crisis. As governments and industry strive to expand their share of the potential economic returns from the fisheries sector, they face a challenge to balance economic growth and sustained employment with the absolute necessity of ensuring long-term resource sustainability. As marine ecosystems are disrupted by widespread unsustainable fishing practices, livelihoods and food security are being jeopardized, often in the most vulnerable communities of developing countries. A key definition in the subsidy debate is that of the 1994 WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures which provides the legal definition of a subsidy in international trade law. In current fisheries management regimes, subsidies to the fisheries industry play a significant role in the depletion of fish stocks.
