India Joins WTO Fisheries Subsidies Pact to Curb Overfishing
India on Monday, July 20, 2026, formally joined the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, a landmark pact aimed at curbing illegal fishing and promoting sustainable fisheries. The agreement prohibits government subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as subsidies for fishing of overfished stocks.
The pact, which came into force on September 15, 2025, was adopted by consensus at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva in June 2022. It is the first multilateral WTO agreement with an environmental sustainability objective. The agreement applies to marine wild-capture fishing and related activities at sea, but excludes aquaculture and inland fisheries.
India's formal acceptance was submitted by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva, where Agrawal is on an official visit. The Commerce Ministry stated that the agreement protects the livelihoods of traditional and small-scale fishers by promoting sustainable fisheries and disciplining harmful subsidies that support large, heavily subsidised industrial fishing fleets operated by distant-water fishing nations.
“India deposited its Instrument of Acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) on 20th July 2026, thereby becoming a Party to the Agreement,” the ministry said in a statement.
The pact creates a more equitable global fisheries regime, benefiting countries like India, where fisheries are predominantly small-scale and not major participants in industrial fishing. The ministry noted that India's seafood exports are largely aquaculture-based shrimp, which fall outside the agreement's scope, ensuring continued resilience and competitiveness.
India's domestic fisheries management framework is already aligned with the agreement, safeguarding the interests of traditional and small-scale fishers. The agreement entered into force after two-thirds of WTO members (166 at present) deposited their instruments of acceptance. Once that threshold was reached, the pact became legally effective for those countries that had accepted it.
The agreement also provides appropriate flexibilities for developing and least-developed country members, balancing conservation goals with development needs. By joining, India commits to phasing out subsidies that contribute to overfishing while supporting sustainable practices.
