This paper examines, from the fishery perspective of a developing country, the current debate on the role of fisheries subsidies in the context of the negotiations relating to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). While providing a background on fish production and trade in developing countries, it sketches the history of the role of the State and subsidies in the fisheries of the now-developed fish economies of the world. It goes on to analyze the manner in which fishery issues and the fisheries subsidies debate have been carried out in the GATT and WTO negotiations, leading up to the Doha Ministerial Declaration, which is the basis for a more structured negotiations on subsidies.