Dear Colleagues:
Oceana is pushing the World Trade Organization (WTO) for an end to
global fisheries subsidies that lead to overfishing. Fisheries subsidies
hurt marine mammals by increasing fishing effort, which can decrease prey
availability and increase bycatch. In addition, fisheries subsidies in
some countries have been linked to whaling. Extensive information on the
WTO, fisheries subsidies, and our work is available on our website.
One of our current initiatives is a scientist sign on letter that asks
Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, to push for as
strong an outcome as possible in the WTO negotiations to eliminate harmful
fisheries subsidies. Daniel Pauly, Boris Worm and Ussif Rashid Sumaila are the
lead signers, and we hope they will be joined by scientists from around the
world.
If you are interested in more information about our work, please check
out http://www.oceana.org/north-america/what-we-do/stop-overfishing-subsidies/
or if you would like to be a signer to the letter, please reply to me at
Egriffin@Oceana.org.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Griffin
Elizabeth Griffin| Marine Wildlife Scientist
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Protecting the World's Oceans
2501 M Street NW,
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+1.202.467.1913 | F +1.202.833.2070 | C +1.202.271.5645
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egriffin@oceana.org | W www.oceana.org
May XX, 2007
Director-General Pascal Lamy
World Trade Organization
Centre William Rappard
Rue de Lausanne 154
CH-1211
Dear Director-General Lamy:
As members of the international science community, we write to you with
our grave concern about the state of the world’s oceans. The World
Trade Organization (WTO) has an unprecedented and unequalled opportunity to
contribute to stopping global overfishing by significantly reducing worldwide
subsidies to the fishing sector. An ambitious outcome in the ongoing WTO
fisheries subsidies negotiations is vital to the future of the world’s fisheries.
It is our great hope that you will use your leadership to guide the WTO to meet
this global challenge.
We have spent lifetimes dedicated to studying the oceans ecosystems and
marine fisheries. Many of us remember a time only decades ago when the
oceans were viewed as vast storehouses of protein, able to provide food to an
increasingly hungry world, food that could be provided by fishermen relying on
technology and scientific management. At that time, many of us also
started to observe the decline of some fish populations.
But we had little idea how massive the problem would become.
Modern fishing technology is capable of catching fish at amounts and in places
we never would have envisioned. The majority of the world’s fish
populations are in jeopardy from overfishing and if current trends continue,
will be beyond recovery within decades.
Fish populations, as well as many other ocean species, have been
depleted to a fraction of their historical level. Many of these fish are
at the top of the marine food chain, and their disappearance can trigger
cascading adverse effects throughout the marine ecosystem.
·
Ninety percent of all the “big
fish”—large-bodied sharks, tuna, marlin and swordfish – have
disappeared as the result of industrialized fishing;[1]
·
The decline of many ocean species is increasingly
impairing the ocean's capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and
recover from perturbations.[2]
·
Despite massive technological advances and increased effort,
global catches of food fish have been declining for more than a decade.[3]
There is no longer any question –we have reached a critical
state. The world’s ocean ecosystems are at a tipping point, and
overfishing represents one of the greatest threats to their productivity.
Yet despite the precarious state of the oceans, many governments
continue to provide significant subsidies to their fishing sector.
Fisheries subsidies produce such strong economic incentives to overfish that
reducing them is one of the most significant actions that can be taken to
combat global overfishing. The WTO negotiations represent the best
opportunity to control worldwide subsidies to the fishing sector.
According to a new study, fisheries subsidies amount to $30 to $34
billion annually, and at least $20 billion go directly towards supporting
fishing capacity, such as boats, fuel, equipment, and other operating costs.[4] These subsidies
equal approximately 25 percent of worldwide fishing revenue.
Fisheries subsidies are not only a major driver of overfishing, but
promote other destructive fishing practices. For example, high seas
bottom trawling, a practice so environmentally-destructive that the United
Nations has called on nations to severely restrict it, would not be profitable
without its large subsidies for fuel. Subsidies have also been documented
to support illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing – a serious
impediment to achieving sustainable fisheries.
There are only decades left before the damage we have inflicted on the
oceans becomes permanent. We are at a crossroads. One road leads to
a world with tremendously diminished marine life. The other leads to one
with oceans again teeming with abundance, where the world can rely on the
oceans for protein, and enjoy its wildlife. The choices we make today
will determine our path for the future.
Global overfishing is one of the greatest threats to the oceans.
Massive government subsidies continue to perpetuate and exacerbate this
problem. The WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations are historic in their
intent to address a major environmental issue in the context of trade.
But the results of this negotiation go far beyond trade – they will
directly impact our ability to ensure the long-term sustainability of the
world’s fisheries.
The WTO has in its hands the opportunity to effect one of the greatest
changes towards protecting the world’s oceans. We urge you to use
your skill and leadership to significantly achieve a successful outcome in the
fisheries subsidies negotiations and demonstrate to the world that the WTO can
play a constructive role in solving problems of global consequence.
Sincerely,
cc: Ambassador Guillermo
Valles Galmes of
Chairman, WTO Negotiating Group on Rules
[1] R. Myers & B. Worm, Rapid Worldwide Depletion of Predatory Fish
Communities. Nature, May 15, 2003, Vol., 423, p. 280-283
[1] B. Worm et al., Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystems
Services. Science, November 3, 2006, Vol. 314, p. 787-790
[1]
R. Watson & D. Pauly, Systematic distortions in world fisheries catch
trends. Nature November 29, 2001, 414, p. 534-536
4 Sumaila, U. R. and D. Pauly (Editors)
2006. Catching More Bait: A Bottom-up Re-estimation of Global Fisheries
Subsidies. Fisheries Centre Research Reports Vol. 14(6) 114 pp.