The WTO Fish Fund has launched its second Call for Proposals as of 2 February, inviting eligible developing and least-developed country (LDC) WTO members that have ratified the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to apply for financial support to advance implementation of the Agreement. Proposals must be submitted through the official application portal by 24 April.
Under this call, two types of grants are available. Project preparation grants of up to USD 50,000 are intended to help countries carry out needs assessments and preparatory work for implementation, while project grants of up to USD 300,000 are designed to support concrete actions related to specific provisions of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
The Fish Fund has already demonstrated strong uptake following its first Call for Proposals. At a meeting in November 2025, the Fund’s Steering Committee approved 26 project grant requests, amounting to a total of USD 2.9 million in approved funding to support fisheries subsidy reform efforts.
The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies was adopted at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022 and entered into force on 15 September 2025, triggering the full operational mandate of the Fish Fund to provide grants and disbursements. As of now, 116 WTO members have formally accepted the Agreement, reflecting broad international commitment to addressing harmful fisheries subsidies.
Established under Article 7 of the Agreement, the Fish Fund is housed at the WTO and operates in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Bank. To date, the Fund has secured more than USD 18 million in deposits, commitments and pledges from contributing members, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and several other WTO members.
