India Said to Oppose an Immediate Scrapping of Fishing Subsidy

India will oppose any immediate move to scrap subsidies for fishermen in developing nations as the World Trade Organization discusses ways to preserve global fish stocks, including ending government funding that enables overfishing, people with the knowledge of the matter said.

At a meeting of trade ministers Thursday, India will insist for more time to phase out subsidies to cushion the impact on local industry and protect livelihood of millions of poor fishermen, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is not public. New Delhi will also argue that developed countries, which provide huge subsidies, must take the responsibility of significantly cutting it down to control overfishing.