What does ‘go fish’ mean to you? Could it be your laconic reply to a question where your full answer might well have been: “No, I do not have it, keep guessing, but leave me alone?” Or does it remind you of the children’s card game in which players attempt to collect playing cards with particular values by asking for them from other players, or by taking them from a pile?

If you now have the urge to play, visit www.bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/go-fish.

Staying with fish, on March 1, World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala announced South Africa’s acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Does the day ring a bell? It was the closing day of the organisation’s thirteenth Ministerial Conference, held in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. As for the time, the announcement was made during the closing session.

The event followed the National Council of Provinces’ ratification of the agreement on February 27, which itself followed the National Assembly’s approval on February 20 and Cabinet’s approval on November 29, 2023.

In her announcement, Okonjo-Iweala said: “I warmly welcome South Africa’s acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at the thirteenth Ministerial Conference. Ending on such a high note at the closing session of the conference underlines the important work ahead of implementing this historic agreement for ocean sustainability. I hope South Africa’s support motivates remaining WTO members to follow suit so we can enter the agreement into force.”

So, how many ‘remaining WTO members’ are there? For that calculation, you will need to know how many members have formally excepted the agreement. The answer is 71 members to date. Now you need to know how many members there are. There are 164 members, an additional 24 observers who are going through the process of becoming members, and 16 members who are neither members nor observers. Thus, a mere 43.29% of the members have accepted the agreement. The agreement will enter into force upon its acceptance by two-thirds of the membership. So, 39 more acceptances are needed for the agreement to come into force.

The agreement, which was adopted by consensus at the WTO’s twelfth Ministerial Conference, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 2022, sets new, binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks.

In addition, the agreement recognises the needs of developing and least-developed countries and establishes a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building to help them implement the obligations. The agreement prohibits support for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, bans support for fishing overfished stocks and ends subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas.

In its release, the South African government stated: “The Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, hailed as a ground-breaking international trade accord, places environmental sustainability at its core. By prohibiting subsidies, the agreement marks a significant step forward in global efforts to preserve marine ecosystems.”

Coinciding with Okonjo-Iweala’s announcement, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said: “This agreement protects South African fishing communities from the effects of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. These practices have a severe impact on coastal States, leading to the depletion of marine resources and depriving coastal communities of their livelihoods. Addressing the problem is crucial in ensuring food security and preserving biodiversity across the continent’s waters. This significant milestone will contribute to our global efforts to safeguard living marine resources for present and future generations”. ‘Protects’ or ‘will eventually protect’?

It all sounds very upbeat, but what seems to have been missed is that the thirteenth Ministerial Conference was tasked with approving an addendum to the agreement that was agreed in June 2022. Unfortunately, negotiations stalled over India’s demand for a 25-year transition period and its call for greater surveillance and penalties for countries that deliver the bulk of fisheries subsidies.

This begs the question: To what extent are WTO members committed or involved? You can read more on commitment and involvement in the column of April 1, 2022, titled ‘Trade facilitation agreement’. Sadly, this was not an April Fools’ Day joke.