But recent efforts by India and others to water it down threaten to undermine the effectiveness of the agreement. "If developing countries like India are exempt for 25 years, then it would undermine the effectiveness of the entire agreement. "India says they are a victim of overfishing by subsidised large foreign vessels -- eg China -- fishing in and around their waters. "Recent research by two prominent Indian economists demonstrates with substantial data and evidence that India's fishers suffer from subsidised overfishing from large foreign vessels. "And the citizens of countries deserve transparency on the access (to waters) agreements their governments are signing with foreign fishers.

Source: Economic Times February 24, 2024 00:43 UTC