India defends fishers, proposes per capita subsidy model

INDIAN FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SECTOR PROVIDES LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT TO 28 MN FISHERS

- Rajeev Jayaswal

NEW DELHI: Developing countries like India provide fishers a subsidy of just $35 per year, as compared to developed countries like Norway who pay around $76,000 per person annually, India told the World Trade Organization (WTO) ahead of its general council meeting next week and proposed a shift from aggregate subsidies to per capita subsidies to determine WTO obligations equitably, said two officials aware of the development.

India is committed to safeguarding the interests of its millions of small fishers against "the lobby of the developed world", comprising China and European countries engaging in distant-water fishing at an industrial scale, which is unsustainable, said the two people, requesting anonymity.