Additionally, WTO members continue to disagree over how to define a country’s eligibility for such exemptions. Several fishing entities, including the European Union and the United States, strongly oppose the inclusion of terms in the WTO agreement that state that any developing country is exempt from removing harmful subsidies, regardless of their contribution to global fisheries subsidies. On the other hand, China – one of the largest contributors to global fisheries subsidies – opposes this view and wishes to be included under such exemptions.

Through these discussions, it quickly became clear that estimates of fish production in the country were based on little more than the number of registered fishing vessels. It meant that one of the early successes of PeskAAS was in providing a more accurate estimate of the national catch. This, in turn, provided decision makers with a clearer idea of what needed to be done to meet targets for national fish consumption, and how the gap could be plugged by the country’s nascent aquaculture sector.

The Common Fisheries Resource Analysis is a modest effort considering the scale of the South China Sea’s environmental challenges. Still, this relatively small step is important: the efforts are delivering scientific evidence to improve domestic policies. By combining the analysis among the five participating countries, fisheries policies have a stronger evidence base on which to make policy decisions.

Second, carefully research and if possible, test a suite of safeguards, to avoid fuelling the fire of overfishing and or deepening inequalities. Third, it’s crucial to avoid setting unrealistic expectations to engage partners – for example, better prices, market access and the like. Finally, because market leverage can be exceedingly powerful it must be wielded with precautionary care. Too often, market forces are unleashed in fisheries where fishers lack basic socioeconomic rights. Following a rights-based-approach to fisheries governance, we recommend sequencing investments in small-scale fisheries, first securing fishers’ basic socioeconomic rights, then ensuring fisheries governance is robust before eventually intervening in fisheries markets.

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