Ghana Ratifies WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, Boosting Global Ocean Sustainability Push

Prime Highlights

Ghana becomes the 103rd WTO member to join the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, in range of the enforcement trigger.
The Agreement will bring an end to harmful fishing subsidies, help preserve ocean ecosystems, and promote sustainable fisheries.

Key Facts

111 WTO member ratifications must be achieved before the Agreement can enter into force; Ghana’s accession puts the number at 103.
The Agreement bans subventions for illegal, unreported, and limited( IUU) fishing, stocks overfished, and limited high- swell fishing.

Key Background

The WTO Fisheries subventions Agreement at the 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022 is a corner palm to bring an end to overfishing encyclopedically. The list agreement seeks to exclude IUU fishing subventions, overfishing of preliminarily overfished fish, and fishing on limited high swell. It’s a corner palm for ocean sustainability and a fairness palm for responsible fishing nations.

Ghana’s July 2nd 2025 ratification brings the tally of official deposits to 103 of the required 111 for the Agreement to come into effect. It is a show of rallying world momentum towards phasing out fishery destructive subsidies. Ghana’s WTO Ambassador once more asserting that Ghana was still committed to sea preservation and sustainable development in accordance with UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14.6 of ending overfishing subsidies.

The Agreement has also been accompanied by technical assistance and capacity building of developing and least-developed countries. WTO Fish Fund, also known as WTO Fisheries Financing Mechanism, has been launched voluntarily to trigger national implementation. The fund is now accepting proposals, and recipient countries can be eligible for financing and technical assistance to fulfill the disciplines of the Agreement.

With a further eight acceptances still to be reached, the WTO invites other members to move quickly towards accession to bring the Agreement into force. Meanwhile, negotiations are proceeding at a fast rate in a second round of talks to further tighten disciplines against subsidies and iron out remaining differences on the management of fisheries. Present negotiations cement the world’s agreement on the seas’ sustainability and fair fishing regimes.