India will seek certain “carve-outs” to ensure special and differential treatment for developing countries that are not quite engaged in distant water fishing in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference to be held between June 12-15 at Geneva.

• India also wants a 25-year exemption for these countries from overfishing subsidy prohibition so that they have some policy space to develop their vastly-underdeveloped distant water fishing segment.
• At the same time, it suggests big subsidisers abolish their dole-outs for fishing in areas beyond their exclusive economic zones (200 nautical miles) within these 25 years, which will then set the stage for developing nations to follow suit.