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OUR WORK

Trade

International trade in fish and fish products is booming. Production is increasing on the back of growing demand across the world. Preservation and transport of produce is becoming cheaper. Lower tariffs have helped, as has the coming in of 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones.

More than half the value of exports is from developing countries of Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDC). ICSF monitors this trade from the perspective of small-scale fishers, analysing international and regional trade regimes, disseminating information about relevant developments to fishworker bodies, civil society and policymakers.

ICSF explains ecolabelling and other forms of certification and their implications for small-scale fishing communities and food security. The aim is enhanced capacity of fisher organizations to deal with trade on an even keel.

ICSF follows negotiations related to fisheries subsidies and other fisheries-related debates at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and follows regional trade agreements, to inform small-scale fishers about their implications for their access to resources and markets.

Current Programmes

ICSF continues to monitor and analyze information on developments in international trade and regional trade regimes and to disseminate information about such developments to fishworker organizations, CSOs and policy makers.

Resources

A Review of the Draft Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (WT/MIN (22)/W/20), 13 June 2022 by ICSF

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International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) A REVIEW OF THE DRAFT AGREEMENT ON FISHERIES SUBSIDIES (WT/MIN (22)/W/20) 13 June 2022     1. The International Collective in Support of...

Labels or Fables? The Myth of Sustainability: A collection of articles from SAMUDRA Report

Labels or Fables? The Myth of Sustainability examines the costs of certification of global fisheries and how it is allegedly biased towards industrial-scale fisheries. This dossier is a compilation of...

International legal instruments relevant to fisheries and fishing communities: A handbook on trade By Ramya Rajagopalan and Ahana Lakshmi, ICSF, 2006

This section provides information on instruments relevant to fisheries trade. This section also includes decisions on trade and environment that are important for the fishing industry. https://www.icsf.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/930.ICSF108.pdf

Untangling subsidies, supporting fisheries: The WTO fisheries subsidies debate and developing-country priorities By John Kurien, ICSF, 2006

This paper examines, from the fishery perspective of a developing country, the debate on the role of fisheries subsidies in the context of the negotiations relating to the General Agreement...

Report of workshop on emerging concerns of fishing communities: Issues of labour, trade, gender, disaster preparedness biodiversity and responsible fisheries venue: Fortaleza, Brazil Date: 04-06 July 2006 By ICSF, 2006

The workshop was co-hosted by the NGO Instituto Terramar. The document gives a detailed report of the presentations and discussions transpired in the workshop. The discussions at the workshop as...

Report of the Study on problems and prospects of artisanal fish trade in West Africa By ICSF, 2002

The study focuses on Guinea-Conakry, Senegal,Benin, Togo, Ghana, Gambia and Ivory Coast, which are either important producers or consumers of fish and have significant trade links with one another. The...

Workshop on problems and prospects for developing artisanal fish trade in West Africa By ICSF, 2001

A long-standing demand of the women of fishing communities in the region has been towards enhancing regional fish trade. It is against this background that the Workshop on Problems and...

Smoke in the water: Problems and prospects for developing artisanal fish trade in West Africa Produced by ICSF, 2001

This video provides an overview of the issues involved, and highlights many of the concerns of the actors in the fisheries sector. It also reports briefly on the workshop on...

Ca Fume Sur La Cote (Afrique de l’Quest: un avenir pour le commerce du poisson transforme par le secteur artisanal): French film Produced by ICSF, 2001

This video provides an overview of the issues involved, and highlights many of the concerns of the actors in the fisheries sector. It also reports briefly on the workshop on...

Shell out: The shrimp-turtle dispute at the WTO: Conserving sea turtles and protecting livelihoods (Draft) By Sebastian Mathew, ICSF, 2000

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The shrimp-turtle dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) between the United States and several Asian countries is the first case that involved a Multilateral Environmental Agreement (EU 2001). All...

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Trade and Environment Review 2023: Building a sustainable and resilient ocean economy beyond 2030, UN, 2023

Fifty to 80 per cent of life on Earth is found in the ocean. For centuries the ocean, which is the planet’s life support system, was considered too vast to...

The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: A Reader’s Guide by Tristan Irschlinger and Alice Tipping, 2023

Members of the World Trade Organization concluded a multilateral deal to curb harmful fisheries subsidies in June 2022. This reader’s guide provides a clear overview of the WTO Agreement on...

Illuminating Hidden Harvests – The contributions of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development by FAO, Duke University & WorldFish, 2023

Illuminating Hidden Harvests: the contributions of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development (hereinafter IHH) is a global study uncovering the contributions and impacts of small-scale fisheries through a multidisciplinary approach to...

The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What it means and why it matters by IISD, 2022

After more than two decades of negotiations, members of the World Trade Organization concluded the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies in June 2022. This new treaty establishes for the first time...

Self-Assessment Tool for the Implementation of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement by IISD, 2022

This self-assessment tool has been developed to support World Trade Organization (WTO) members in their implementation of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement. Public officials can use the tool to conduct...

Report of the Eighteenth Session of the COFI Sub-Committee on Fish Trade, 8 April-8 May, 7-9 & 20 June 2022

The Sub-Committee on Fish Trade was established by the Committee on Fisheries to serve as a multilateral consultation forum for discussions on the international trade of fisheries and aquaculture products....

Implementing the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing and Least-Developed Country Members

The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference, marks a major step forward for ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies, which are a key factor...

The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022: Towards blue transformation by FAO

The 2022 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture coincides with the launch of the Decade of Action to deliver the Global Goals, the United Nations Decade of...

WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: Draft Ministerial Decision of 17 June, 2022,Geneva, WT/MIN(22)/W/22

This document is a draft ministerial decision of agreement on fisheries subsidies derived at the Twelfth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference, Geneva, 12-15 June 2022. It describes protocol amending...

MC12 Outcome Document – Draft, 16 June 2022 (WT/MIN(22)/W/16/Rev.1)

MC12 Outcome Document – Draft, 16 June 2022 (WT/MIN(22)/W/16/Rev.1) https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/WT/MIN22/W16R1.pdf&Open=True

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