All fishing nations must unite to cut subsidies

摘要

The threat of overfishing to world fisheries is well documented, but not enough attention has been paid to government subsidies as an important factor in their decline. Subsidies, or government payments to the fishing sector, estimated at US＄30-34 billion a year, are key drivers of the unsustainable exploitation of the worlds depleted fish populations. Fish are the main source of protein for one fifth of the worlds population, but global fishing fleets are more than double the size the oceans can support.