November 1, 2019

Morocco shifts to aquaculture as Mediterranean stocks decline

While maritime fishing catches have declined, the country's Blue Morocco national plan is bearing fruit for a burgeoning aquaculture industry, reported AFP.

Morocco's fish stocks have been plummeting, with only a reported 7.4 tonnes of catch in 2017 in the eastern Oriental region (from 14.7 tonnes in 2013), and a 30% decline in catches along the Mediterranean coast.

It's steadily becoming a financial concern - in 2017, US$2.2 billion of seafood was exported overseas. This represented half of the nation's total food exports, and 10% of its entire export market.

However, the country's Blue Morocco national plan, which focused on conserving current fish stocks and adding stocks to falling revenues for small-scale fishermen, has already bore fruit.

An offshore mussel farm has been set up by an Al Amal cooperative for independent fisherman in Ras Kebdana, and another 11-hectare algae farm exporting to cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries was set up at Mar Chica Lagoon by Moroccan investors.

One of the more successful ventures is a sea bass aquaculture farm in M'diq, near the Strait of Gibraltar. The National Aquaculture Development Agency (ANDA) has deemed this a model aquaculture project and hopes to recreate similar farms along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

However, the Blue Morocco plan is still in its infancy. According to ANDA, the national plan aimed to produce 200,000 tonnes of seafood derived from aquaculture, but only managed to produce 700 tonnes in 2018.

Private investment will see about 150 aquaculture projects soon to be launched in Morocco, with Mustafa Amzough, manager at ANDA citing a 150,000-tonne production target for these new projects. 15 of these farms will be located in the Mediterranean.

-      AFP