Morocco fishing crisis: stocks collapse, exports at risk

The situation is becoming untenable for several high-value commercial species, caught far beyond sustainable renewal thresholds. In the Mediterranean, pink shrimp biomass has collapsed to just 23% of its optimal level, while red sole stagnates at 35%. Atlantic coasts are not spared from this overfishing, which decimates reserves of pink sea bream, meagre, sardine and hake. Further south, although octopus is subject to strict quotas and biological rest periods, pressure remains maximum due to numerous violations.

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This environmental fragility contrasts with the figures of an industry weighing 2% of national GDP. With 1.42 million tonnes exported in 2024 for 16.3 billion dirhams, the Kingdom ranks thirteenth globally and maintains over 250,000 jobs. Yet behind the scenes reveals massive waste. In the Mediterranean, 22.8% of catches are directly discarded at sea. Meanwhile, a massive portion of fishing — over 140,000 tonnes valued at 225 million dollars in 2023 — ends up transformed into fish meal or oil, to the detriment of citizens’ direct food security.

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For the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), this degradation stems from multiple combined pressures: unregulated fishing, juvenile capture, destructive nets and coastal urbanization. In southern regions, the institution estimates around one thousand vessels using illegal practices. Facing the aggravating effects of climate disruption and water warming, the body demands a radical change of course. It calls for abandoning public policies focused solely on production volumes and exports, to urgently prioritize a comprehensive ecological approach guaranteeing the preservation of marine biodiversity.