Published: June 18, 2025
CAPITOL HILL — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has called on the House of Representatives to ratify the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, a landmark global pact aimed at eliminating harmful fishing practices and promoting the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems.
The agreement, adopted in 2022 during the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference, represents the first multilateral trade accord with binding rules specifically targeting subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as overfishing and exploitation of unregulated high seas. It amends the Marrakesh Agreement, which established the WTO.
In a formal communication read during open plenary on Tuesday, President Boakai stressed that countries in West Africa, including Liberia, suffer disproportionately from the consequences of IUU fishing. He noted that the region loses an estimated $9.4 billion annually due to unregulated foreign fishing activity. According to Boakai, the WTO pact seeks to eliminate an estimated $22 billion in global fisheries subsidies that overwhelmingly favor large industrial fleets operating with minimal oversight.
Boakai emphasized that Liberia’s ratification of the agreement would help protect the livelihoods of more than 33,000 small-scale Liberian fishers who rely on coastal fisheries for their economic survival. He added that the agreement would also support international fish trade stability and price regulation, especially for countries whose artisanal fishing sectors struggle to compete with heavily subsidized foreign operators.
The President said Liberia’s endorsement of the WTO agreement would boost the country’s credibility in environmental stewardship and demonstrate its commitment to global multilateral cooperation. He further noted that ratification would make Liberia eligible to access the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism, a support fund established to provide technical assistance and capacity-building support for developing countries implementing the agreement.
Following the reading of the President’s communication, plenary referred the matter to the Committees on Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Judiciary for review. The committees have been mandated to examine the legal, economic, and environmental implications of the agreement and report back to plenary within two weeks.
The agreement introduces several important disciplines. It prohibits the granting of subsidies to fishing vessels or operators engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. It also bans subsidies directed at fishing overfished stocks, particularly where conservation and management measures are lacking. Furthermore, it restricts subsidies for fishing activities taking place in unregulated areas of the high seas that fall outside the jurisdiction of regional fisheries management organizations.
In addition to these core provisions, the agreement includes transparency obligations, requiring WTO members to regularly notify and report their fisheries subsidy programs. It also calls for restraint in subsidizing foreign-flagged vessels operating within the exclusive economic zones of developing coastal states like Liberia.
Liberia, with its extensive Atlantic coastline and numerous fishing communities, is particularly vulnerable to IUU fishing. According to studies by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), foreign trawlers often operate without licenses, use destructive gear, and exploit weak enforcement systems. These activities have devastated local fisheries, reduced biodiversity, and undermined the economic viability of legal artisanal fishing.
By ratifying the agreement, Liberia would be aligning itself with more than 70 WTO member states that have already submitted instruments of acceptance, including the United States, China, Japan, the European Union, and several African countries. For the agreement to enter into force globally, it must be ratified by two-thirds of WTO members, or 110 of the 164 members.
If approved, Liberia would join a growing international coalition committed to restoring ocean sustainability, protecting vulnerable coastal populations, and promoting equitable participation in global trade.
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