The Steering Committee of the Fish Fund has made progress towards launching its first Call for Proposals. This initiative will allow developing and least developed country (LDC) members to request funding for project grants, contingent on their ratification of the Agreement.
New members Barbados, The Gambia, Haiti, Mauritius, Peru, the Philippines, Seychelles, and Sierra Leone have joined the Committee to represent beneficiary countries. The contributions of previous committee members from Djibouti, Fiji, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Peru, Saint Lucia, and Senegal were acknowledged.
The rotation of donor representatives is planned for a later stage. Both donors and beneficiaries can change their delegates at any time while ensuring that at least two LDC members remain on the Committee. Members must serve a minimum term of one year.
Proposals can be submitted once 101 WTO members have ratified the Agreement; currently, 99 have done so. After launching the Call for Proposals, submissions will be accepted over three months before being reviewed by the Steering Committee.
Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard remarked on the meeting's progress: "It is a pleasure to open today’s meeting and see the tremendous progress made as we near entry into force. Everyone’s hard work – donors, beneficiaries, and partners - has paid off."
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Framework was approved by the Steering Committee to ensure effective project implementation.
The Fish Fund was established under Article 7 of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted in 2022. It aims to support eligible developing and LDC members in implementing this agreement with cooperation from international organizations like FAO and IFAD.
This marks the fifth meeting since voluntary contributions began in November 2022. Contributors include Australia, Canada, EU nations among others. To date 99 instruments of acceptance have been received out of a required total of 111 for full implementation.