Environmentalists say subsidies, which have been been on the WTO's agenda since the current round of talks began in Doha in 2001, contribute to the overfishing seen in 75 percent of the world's stocks and endanger fragile marine ecosystems.

"There is a growing consensus that some types of subsidies do deplete fish stocks," said Monique Barbut director of the Technology, Industry and Economics at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

"Those (subsidies) for infrastructure, capital costs, access to foreign countries' stocks and price support are among the most damaging," said Barbut.

Global subsidies are conservatively estimated at 15 billion dollars a year, equal to 20 percent of the world's commercial fish catch.

The issue is critical because more than one billion people depend on fish for livelihood and in developing countries, some 100 to 200 million people work in the fish processing industry alone.

To push ahead with the elimination of tariffs but at the same time protect themselves Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines and others are calling for special and differential treatment, which means poorer countries would be permitted to impose higher import tariffs and subsidies.

That would be hugely important for a country like the Philippines, for example, where fishing is estimated to account for about 4.0 percent of economic output, employs some two million people and plays a crucial role in the country's food security.

Although there is an increasing consensus, which includes previous opponents such as the European Union and Japan, there are wide disagreements over the modalities of any accord.

Spain, home to one of the world's largest fishing fleets, has put up stiff resistance, claiming that tariff reductions will increase illegal fishing and further exhaust fish populations.

"It is not that we're not in agreement with sustainable fishing; we need fish for tomorrow if not how will we survive," said Juan Vietes Babtista, secretary general of the National Association of Producers and Processors of Fish and Shellfish in Vigo, Spain.

"We don't want subsidies; we want the development of an industry that is simply on the same playing field as everyone else," said Babtista.

The current WTO meeting, which is aimed at opening up markets and lifting underdeveloped countries out of poverty, is currently hung up on the controversial issue of agricultural subsidies and so an agreement on fishing is unlikely.

Nevertheless, negotiators want to make sure the issue at least remains near centre stage in Hong Kong, despite heavy opposition from fishing powers Spain, South Korea and Portugal.

"Coming into this meeting we feel like we're making progress; on the other hand the toughest negotiations are ahead of us," said WWF senior fellow David Schorr.

The WWF and the United Nations Development Programme argue that the majority of distorting subsidies come from developed countries, with South Korea, Japan and Spain considered among the worst of offenders.

One of the major difficulties facing negotiators is that WTO rules focus on protecting exporting countries, which means to challenge a subsidy countries must present near incontrovertible proof that their own export ability has been hampered by another nation.

"But the main impact of fishing of subsidies is not in the export markets but at the production level because what you really doing is subsidizing the race for a resource," Schorr said.

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