WTO convenes trade ministers to net fisheries deal – MENAFN.COM

WTO convenes trade ministers to net fisheries deal – MENAFN.COM

This file photo taken on July 9, 2021 shows two bluefin tuna fish extracted with a crane after being fished by divers in a purse seine at the Balfego fishing company's aquaculture facility on the open sea off the coast of L'Atmella de Mar. (AFP photo) (MENAFN - Jordan Times) GENEVA "” The World Trade Organisation (WTO) kicked off a ministerial meeting on Thursday aimed at breathing life into drawn-out negotiations towards banning subsidies that favour overfishing, but numerous sticking points remain. Before the meeting, WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala voiced cautious optimism that trade ministers from the organisation's 164 member states could finally move towards clinching a "historic" agreement after 20 years of negotiations. "While no one expects a miracle, the meeting represents a golden opportunity to bring the negotiations within striking distance of a deal," she said in an editorial published on Wednesday in Project Syndicate. "A failure to do so would jeopardise the ocean's biodiversity and the sustainability of the fish stocks on which so many depend for food and income." The talks aim to ban subsidies that contribute to illegal and unregulated fishing, as well as to overfishing, threatening the sustainability of fish stocks and the industry.