Morocco Fishing Industry Overview

Nov 09, 2025 0

Morocco boasts an extensive coastline stretching 2,141 miles along the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, making fishing a major industry since the 1930s. The industry experienced tremendous growth during the 1980s.

The fisheries sector contributes around 2 to 3 percent of GDP and represents 15 to 20 percent of Morocco’s agri-food exports. In fact, the fish processing and value-added industry holds a privileged position in the Moroccan economy, accounting for 52% of Moroccan food exports and 10% of total exports. Today, Morocco is an essential regional platform for the valorization and export of fish products.

The Moroccan marine fishery resources are highly diversified. The exploited stocks are dominated by small pelagic species and cephalopods. Among these two families, sardines and octopuses are the most important species in terms of total catches.

Motivated by its position as a major fish-exporting country, Moroccan seafood processing units adhere to the strict requirements of the most demanding markets. The abundance of high-quality raw materials has facilitated the development of a modern and diverse seafood processing industry in Morocco, which has successfully reached over 146 destinations worldwide.

In 2020, this industry achieved an export tonnage of 671,249 tons with a value of 21 billion Moroccan Dirhams.

Worldwide, aquaculture is expanding rapidly, especially in Asia, Chile, and Norway. Aquaculture is a booming sector in Morocco, which contributes significantly to the national economy and food security.

Morocco indeed has undeniable advantages when it comes to fisheries resources. The Kingdom is blessed with a coastline located along the Atlantic and Mediterranean shores, which provides highly favorable hydroclimatic characteristics. The region benefits from steady winds and upwelling, which bring up nutrient-rich cold deep waters.

Historical Context and Development

Fishing has been a major industry in Morocco since the 1930s, experiencing tremendous growth during the 1980s. In 1986 and 1991, landings were the largest ever; both were more than 594,000 tons. Over 100,000 Moroccans are employed in the fishing industry.

Morocco's wide-reaching agricultural reform drive has been extended to the fishing industry. At the end of September 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Maritime Fishing unveiled Plan Halieutis.

Officials describe the project as part of the “Royal Vision” to valorize Morocco’s Atlantic potential. The king’s personal role in inaugurating the port underscores the political weight of fisheries.

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The Casablanca port isn’t an isolated investment. It follows the Halieutis strategy, launched in 2009, which aimed to modernize fleets, expand processing capacity, and double export revenues.

The fish processing and value-added industry holds a privileged position in the Moroccan economy, accounting for 50% of agri-food exports and 8% of total exports. This industry processes nearly 70% of coastal fishing catches and exports approximately 85% of its production to around a hundred countries across all five continents.

Spain is the largest per capita seafood and products consumer in the EU. The Spanish fishing fleet is the largest within the EU and totals 18,900 vessels.

Morocco's Fishing Fleets

Moroccan coastal fishery is made up of primarily smaller, wooden boats. Morocco's boats are older, poorly managed and lack technical equipment such as fish finding gear. Due to their lack of technical accoutrement, specifically coolers, they often times bring back damaged catches. These boats are usually between 100 and 150 feet long and make about 5 trips, lasting 60 days, each year.

Catches by Morocco's high sea fishing fleet is smaller in tonnage than its coastal fishing fleet, but they account for the largest return in value since their catches are comprised mostly of high-priced cephalopods and white fish. These catches are usually exported immediately after arriving at Moroccan ports.

Before 1992, the majority of Morocco's high sea fleet was based in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and its contribution to the Moroccan economy was limited. Thanks in part to the aforementioned measures, by 1992 all but one or two of Morocco's high sea fleet were based in Moroccan ports.

The relocation of the high sea fleet underscores the evolution of the Moroccan fishing industry and its development into a rival for Spain.

Disputes with Spain and the EU

There have been constant disputes with Spain over fishing rights since 1973 when Morocco declared an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), resulting in a 70-nautical-mile (130 km) coastal fishing limit. Traditionally, Morocco has entered into fishery agreements with Spain bilaterally, and since its accession to the EU, with that body.

Moroccan disputes with Spain over fishing rights have gone on for many years. However, the issue became more contentious in the 1970's when countries began to declare Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). In 1973, Morocco declared a 70 mile coastal fishing limit. This was extended to 200 miles in 1981. At the same time, the EU declared a 200 mile fishing zone in 1977. All of these declarations caused the Spanish much trepidation and led to initiation of several bilateral agreements.

In 1988, Morocco signed a four year agreement with the EU which restricted EU vessels to a catch of 95,00 tons annually in Moroccan waters. In return, Morocco received licenses and fees and other financial assistance in a package worth ECU70 million per year. In 1992, this agreement was renewed for another four years. Under the renewed agreement, Morocco's compensation rose to ECU 102 million a year.

On April 30, 1995 the Government of Morocco suspended the access of EU boats to Moroccan waters. The suspension came a year before the agreement was to end. The Moroccan government said that the suspension was in order to preserve its fishery resources.

Central to Morocco's blocking of EU boats, and their rejection a year early of the Morocco/EU fishing agreement, was their claim that fish stocks were being depleted and Moroccan waters were over-fished.

Most fishermen and government officials agree that over-fishing in Moroccan waters is a major problem. For quite some time, the issue of overfishing has been at the center of conflict for the EU. With Morocco's actions forbidding EU boats from their waters, the issue became even more important, especially for Spain.

The conflict between Morocco and Spain over fishing rights stemmed from Moroccan claims that Spanish boats were causing depletion of fish stocks in Moroccan waters. Morocco argued that Spanish overfishing was preventing Moroccans from benefitting from their own natural resource: the ocean off its coast. Therefore, the implication was that the Spanish were causing species loss. This was the distinct source problem of the conflict between Spain and Morocco.

The conflict directly stemmed from Spain's use of Moroccan waters for fishing. Beginning in 1992, and again in 1995, Morocco objected to the presence of Spanish boats. In 1995, the Government of Morocco claimed that Spanish boats were responsible for the depletion of the fish stock in Moroccan waters. The concern over a potential scarcity of fish led Morocco to revoke a four year agreement and necessitated rounds of negotiations. Eventually, a new agreement was reached and Morocco felt confident that the agreement would decrease overfishing by Spanish boats, thereby allowing Moroccan fishermen to work their own waters and not worry about the declining fish population.

Although Morocco and Spain have experienced numerous disagreements over fishing rights in the past, not until 1992 was there a distinct conflict that brought international attention. In 1992 Morocco challenged the renewal of the Morocco/EU fishing agreement which directly impacted Spain. The issue resurfaced in 1995 as Morocco once again rejected the Morocco/EU fishing agreement and forbade EU boats from fishing in her waters. This caused over 600 Spanish boats to remain in port for months until the conflict was settled in November 1995.

Morocco's fishing community struggles

Plan Halieutis

At the end of September 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Maritime Fishing unveiled Plan Halieutis. Which aims to increase exports from DH8.3bn (€729m) in 2007 to DH21.9bn (€1.9bn) by 2020. In the same time period, the sector's contribution to GDP is expected to rise from DH16.2bn to DH23.9bn (€2bn).

The facility includes a fish market with 15 units meeting international hygiene standards, integrated cold-chain systems, and safety upgrades for artisanal crews.

It follows the Halieutis strategy, launched in 2009, which aimed to modernize fleets, expand processing capacity, and double export revenues.

Western Sahara and Fisheries

Until 1975 it was a non-self-governing territory legally recognized as being administered by the European colonial power of Spain. Instead of achieving independence when Spain withdrew, Western Sahara and its offshore waters were seized by Morocco in what many observers view as a settler-colonial occupation. Moroccan control, which is considered illegal under international law, has lasted for more than 40 years.

These recent changes have reinforced the occupation and further marginalized the Indigenous Sahrawi population, whose mother tongue is Hassaniya and who belong to some of the tribes that inhabited the Western Sahara during the Spanish colonial period (1884-1975).

Long before 2020, the Moroccan regime consolidated control over Western Sahara by facilitating the arrival and establishment of a settler population. The development of the fisheries sector in Western Sahara’s cities has particularly strengthened its occupation.

The fisheries sector in the Sahrawi coastal cities was practically non-existent during the first years of Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara.

Morocco’s annexation of Western Sahara ensured a Moroccan presence in its territorial waters with these large vessels. In fact, in 1996 the number of freezer vessels dedicated to octopus-a highly profitable species on the international market found primarily in the waters adjacent to Western Sahara-had risen to 273 out of a total of 331 active boats.

It was not until the mid-1990s that the fisheries sector truly began to develop, with the two main Sahrawi coastal cities of Dakhla and Laayoune specializing in different species.

In both cities, investment in the fishing industry was made not only by Sahrawi and Moroccan entrepreneurs, but also by the Moroccan authorities that financed the construction of ports and markets and the establishment of fishery and investment institutions like the National Fisheries Office and Regional Investment Center. Foreign transnational corporations also contributed through the creation of fish processing and freezing companies using mixed capital.

The highest population growth in the Sahrawi cities occurred during the years when the fisheries sector emerged and developed, between 1994 when the first octopus freezing unit was built in Dakhla and 2004 when some 90 companies linked to octopus freezing were registered. During that time, the population of the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region grew by 170 percent and increased by 34 percent in Laayoune.