- Finley the Fish represents the last fish in the ocean. Finley has visited Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on several occasions. He has also visited Geneva, Switzerland to increase awareness of overfishing subsidies.
It's Time to Cut the Bait
Nearly a billion people worldwide depend on fish as their primary source of protein, and there are millions more who live in coastal communities which count on fishing for all or part of their income. The threat to the health and welfare of these people is brought into stark perspective that the world's fisheries are close to irreversible collapse.
Consider that many fish populations are significantly depleted and scientists project the permanent collapse of all commercial species within the next 50 years if significant action is not taken to reverse overfishing. Government subsidies to the fishing sector, totaling approximately $20 billion annually, represent one of the principal forces behind the overfishing crisis. These harmful subsidies push fishing fleets to fish longer, harder and farther away than would otherwise be possible.
Critical negotiations are currently being conducted during the Doha round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reduce these destructive fisheries subsidies. In late November 2007, the WTO took a tremendous step forward in the negotiations when it produced the first draft agreement on fisheries subsidies. The draft agreement contains a strong prohibition on capacity enhancing subsidies and provides for improved fisheries management.To help ensure the negotiations deliver meaningful and lasting changes to preserve the world's fisheries, Oceana is leading a global effort to increase international awareness of the issue through our Cut the Bait campaign, which has helped generate attention among media and stakeholders around the world.
Oceana's campaign has been recognized during a WTO public forum when Director-General Pascal Lamy said, "Today, negotiations on fisheries subsidies in the WTO are in full swing and they are being taken extremely seriously. The Membership realizes the magnitude of what is at stake if these negotiations were to fail. And just in case it would forget, you have placed banners all over Geneva to remind us all of the need to reach an agreement!"
The WTO has the single best opportunity to address the fisheries subsidies issue on a global scale, and Oceana is working hard to make sure it does just that.
