Negotiators at the WTO are reportedly optimistic about recent advances on talks to curb fisheries subsidies.  While significant differences remain, a new mood is said to surround discussions and the ambassador of one industrialized nation is reported to have said that talks are now focusing on the most harmful of subsidies, rather than subsidies in general. The Doha Round of trade talks began in 2001, but have been marked by stalled negotiations and collapsed discussions over much of the last nine years, making the recent optimism of negotiators seem even more promising.

The Fisheries Economics Research Unit has…

The Economist magazine reports on developments from the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) where delegates are hoping to hash out an agreement on fisheries subsidies. The article summarizes some of the issues surrounding an agreement on fisheries subsidies within the WTO including the idea that a deal on fisheries subsidies may be delayed by the slow progress of non-fisheries related topics at the Doha Round.

Photo by AaronC

Some of the recent work on fisheries subsidies by Rashid Sumaila and others in the Fisheries Economics Research Unit is…