The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed a tool to assist countries in evaluating the risk their support policies may pose to sustainable fisheries.
Source: OECD
The fisheries sector is pivotal in global food security and the ocean economy. Government support can significantly enhance this contribution by fostering resilience in the fisheries industry, improving fish stock productivity, and ensuring the health of fish stocks and ecosystems. However, misguided government assistance can result in unfavorable outcomes, such as excessive fishing capacity and the prevalence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The OECD has developed a tool to aid the government in assessing the potential risks their support policies may pose to sustainable fisheries. This tool identifies mitigating factors that can diminish these risks, including effective management, stock health, and sound policy design. It also classifies different types of fisheries support according to the degree of risk they may pose to fishery sustainability.
Self-assessment tool to identify policies that risk encouraging unsustainable fishing. Source: OECD (Click to enlarge)
To achieve socio-economic goals and maintain a sustainable ocean, it is important that fisheries support does not compromise the health of fish stocks. Policies that promote unsustainable fishing result in issues with global food security and greater impacts on fish resources and ecosystems, as well as increased greenhouse gas emissions.Countries should consider the type of policy support and how it directly affects fishing costs and benefits, re-purpose government spending away from support that directly enhances fishing capacity and unsustainable fishing, limit eligibility for support programs that pose a danger, and exclude from government support illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities.
Reference:
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (January 2023). OECD policy brief: Supporting sustainable fisheries. Retrieved November 20, 2023 from https://web-archive.oecd.org/2023-01-10/649465-OECD-Fisheries-policy-brief-2.pdf
