The WTO Fish Fund has marked an important milestone with the submission to the WTO of the first-ever fisheries subsidy notification made possible through support from the Fund.
The submission on 03 June by Tonga under the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies has additional significance given the developing Pacific region’s exposure to the effects of harmful fisheries subsidies.
The notification was prepared during a workshop held from 20 to 22 May in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, as part of a project funded by the Fish Fund, and contributes to Tonga’s implementation of the Agreement.
Under the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, a WTO member party to the Agreement is required to notify, among others, its membership of any Regional Fisheries Management Organsation or Arrangement (RFMO/A), including information about the areas and species under the competence of the RFMO/A, the status of managed fish stocks, the conservation and management measures under the RFMO/A, and any lists of vessels and/or operators the RFMO/A has determined have engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The workshop in Nuku’alofa brought together key government officials and laid the foundation for inter-governmental coordination on notifications.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “Transparency is at the heart of turning the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into tangible benefits for the world’s oceans and the people who depend on them. Tonga’s notification is an encouraging example of how the WTO Fish Fund is helping to develop and least-developed members build the capacity needed to implement the Agreement and contribute to more sustainable fisheries.”
Tonga deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 15 September 2025 and is currently benefitting from a Fish Fund project preparation grant to support implementation. The grant will conclude in September 2026 with the delivery of a needs assessment and a proposal for further targeted support.
The CEO for the Ministry of Fisheries from the government of Tonga, Sione Vailala Matoto, said: “The submission of Tonga’s first notification under the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies marks an important milestone in our implementation efforts. We are grateful for the support of the WTO Funding Mechanism, the “Fish Fund”, which enabled Tonga to conduct a national workshop and develop Tonga’s first fisheries subsidy inventory, strengthening our capacity to meet our WTO obligations and promote sustainable fisheries management.”
The Fish Fund was established under Article 7 of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to provide targeted technical assistance and capacity-building to help developing and LDC members implement the Agreement.
Housed at the WTO, the Fund operates in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank Group.
The Fund’s second call for proposals closed on 8 May and newly approved grants are expected to be announced in July 2026. To date, total contributions and commitments to the WTO Fish Fund from 18 members have reached CHF 15.7 million, equivalent to more than USD$20 million.
The contributing members are Australia, Canada, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
