This paper considers
the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies as an important step in the crossing
of sustainable trade and ocean governance. The analysis is made of the legal,
economic, and environmental impacts of the agreement in terms of its provision
in reducing destructive subsidies causing overfishing and depletion of marine life.
Utilizing doctrinal analysis of the terms of the agreement and review of
applicable WTO principles found in international environmental law, this paper
answers the question of whether the agreement is an opportunity to harmonize
trade regulation with wider sustainability goals, including SDG 14. The study
also imagines the logistical difficulties of implementation and enforcement,
especially for developing and least developed countries, with admitting the
capacity shortcomings and compliance problems inherent to this obligation. From
the analysis, this study finds that despite the agreement’s unprecedented
change towards trade governance through its binding provisions on the
environment, the actualized outcome will lie in domestic implementation multiplicity,
ventured negotiations of the remaining categories of subsidies, and cooperative
mechanisms for the provision of technical assistance. The study concludes that
the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is also a first step to address the
conflicting policies of trade liberalization and marine conservation and
resource distribution.