STATEMENT OF SOUTHEAST ASIA FISHERIES JUSTICE NETWORK (SEAFish – J)
For THE 9TH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE IN BALI
Fave Hotel, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia
04 December 2013
In its attempt to resurrect faith on the moribund multilateral trading system, the 9th Ministerial Conference WTO in Bali Indonesia, dangles trade facilitation as part of its ‘early-harvest’ package. In the perspective of artisanal fisherfolks, trade facilitation will only serve as the final blow to the decimation of fisheries all over the globe, as it will further intensify fishing effort into the already depleted fisheries resources of developing countries like the Southeast Asia.
For more than two decades of its existence the WTO has not contributed to the improvement of the lives and livelihoods of artisanal fishers and aquaculture smallholders. On the contrary, trade liberalization has pushed the artisanal fishers to further marginalization by systematically excluding concerns of fisheries sustainability and development in its agenda. WTO has continuously regarded and categorized fish products and fisheries along automobiles, cellphones, cars, and other manufactured products, without recognizing its biological limits. This treatment only blatantly demonstrated WTO’s lack of understanding and capacity to effect development on fisheries and address the concerns of artisanal fishers.
WTO has done nothing in fisheries but to encourage unregulated and unbridled fishing like that of highly traded species of tuna. In Southeast Asia more than 60% of the landed tuna for export to developed countries are juveniles and the catch volumes are at a decreasing trend. WTO negotiators can look around and check in the Bali fish market to directly witness for themselves that tuna landed are below their maturity size: with skipjack at 45 centimeters, yellowfin at 100 cm., and bigeye tuna at 105 cm.
WTO’s corporate-led market to trickle down socio-economic benefits to the poor coastal communities has never been a reality. Trade and economic liberalization has instead trampled on the rights and welfare of fishing communities by encouraging investments that displaced fishers from their settlements and their fishing grounds. WTO is never concerned for fair working conditions and social protection of fishworkers and aquaculture workers.
In this context, We, the Southeast Asia Fish for Justice Network, a group of national fishers federations and non-government organizations in the region, enjoins Southeast Asian governments negotiators to call for the regulated trade on fish-products because of fisheries biological nature. Regulated fish trade should be applied specially to fishing areas and fish species where there is already evidence of depletion and overfishing.
No to Early Harvest, Reject Bali Package !
Regulate Trading in Fishery Products !
End WTO!