6. In trying on the one hand to implement the recommendation made by the FAO Committee of Fisheries (COFI) in 2001 and, on the other hand, to address the conclusions of the first FAO Expert Consultation on fishery subsidies[1] it became apparent that the lack of detailed data on the nature, magnitude and impact of subsidies on the sector constituted a formidable obstacle to progress. The FAO Fisheries Department then decided as a first technical step, to try to develop a methodology for generating quantitative data of relevance for assessing the impact of subsidies. A Guide helping to identify, assess and report on subsidies - without going into their potential secondary effects outside the recipient enterprises - could constitute the first step in a strategy that in a second and subsequent step would help to develop quantitative indicators of the importance of these secondary effects (on trade, environment and development) as well as facilitate their analysis.
7. In the course of 2002, FAO Fisheries Department of FAO developed a draft “Guide for Identifying, Assessing and Reporting on Subsidies in the Fisheries Sector” (the Guide). The work was undertaken as follows:
a first preliminary draft was prepared;
approval was obtained to test the draft Guide by conducting a study of fishery subsidies in four Member Countries (a transition economy country, a low income country, an upper middle income country and a developed country);
letters of agreements were signed with offices/organizations in the concerned countries for the execution prototype studies;
FI provided through missions to the field technical backstopping and supervision to the contracted national organizations/institutions in the use of the draft Guide for the preparation of prototype studies[2];
the draft Guide was rewritten based on the experience derived from the prototype studies; and
the second version of the draft Guide was peer-reviewed and the peer review became the basis for the third version submitted to this Consultation.
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[1] Expert Consultation on
Economic Incentives and Responsible Fisheries (Rome, 28 November-1 December
2000) - FAO Fisheries Report No.638 [2] The report resulting from the study carried out in Trinidad and Tobago is attached as Information document FI:ECFS/2002/Inf. 4 - Study on Subsidies in The Fisheries Sector of Trinidad and Tobago |
