India and the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement: The Unfinished Equity Question

India formally accepted the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies in July 2026, but this did not bring the negotiations to an end. The Agreement bans subsidies tied to illegal and unregulated fishing and overfished stocks, but broader subsidy rules contributing to overcapacity and overfishing remain unsettled. This article highlights India’s evolution from prioritizing the protection of small-scale and artisanal fisheries to currently challenging the use of aggregate subsidy levels for differentiation. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data from 2020 to 2022 indicate that while total support figures for OECD members and non-members appear similar, the average support per fisher significantly differs, at $5,722 for members and $283 for non-members. This comparison supports India’s argument, but environmental harm depends on subsidy type, fleet capacity, fishing location, stock condition and fisheries management rather than support per fisher alone. India’s acceptance endorses current agreements and raises concerns about equitable burden distribution for further regulations among countries with varied fishing sectors and historical subsidies.

JEL Classification: F13, F53, Q22, Q28