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Environmental management become major concern all over the world since the adoption of the Brundtland Commission report entitled "Our Common Future" in 1987. Awareness of the need for sustainable management to create people’s welfare being the mainstream of development in each country or popularly called sustainable development. As an archipelagic country that has large oceans with enormous fisheries resources, Indonesia face threats to fisheries resources which are suspected by the administration of fisheries subsidies that did not consider the sustainability of fisheries resources. On the other side, government provide fisheries subsidies to alleviate poverty and improve fishermen’s welfare. A number of countries, especially developed countries encourage the elimination of fisheries subsidies at World Trade Organization (WTO) and other countries, especially developing countries opposed the proposal of the developed countries. However, it is necessary to make a balance between community development and environmental protection in case of fisheries subsidies. Subsidies are needed to maintain socio-economic resilience of small-scale fishermen. This is common in developing countries like Indonesia. This paper review Indonesian case, considering that small scale fishermen have the most percentage in fisheries structure. The small scale fishermen still depend on the subsidies.

fisheries subsidies, sustainable fisheries management, WTO, fisheries resources