MOROCCO 



The U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca, Morocco, prepared the following report on the fisheries of 

 Morocco. The report has been edited only slightly to help it conform to other country reports. 7 



1 . Regulations on Fishing 



There are no general regulations covering fishing 

 by foreign fleets in Moroccan waters. Vessels 

 fishing in Moroccan waters must be licensed by the 

 Government of Morocco. There are separate license 

 categories according to the fishing method to be used 

 (e.g., long line, seiner trawling). Licenses are issued 

 to specific vessels. No new ones are being issued, 

 although foreigners can obtain a license by buying a 

 licensed Moroccan vessel. Fleets from specific 

 countries are governed by bilateral agreements. 



2. International Agreements 



 European Community (EC) 



The most important foreign fishing fleet in 

 Moroccan waters is the EC fleet, composed almost 

 entirely of Spanish vessels. Morocco renewed its 

 four-year fisheries accord with the EC on May 15, 

 1992. The new accord, which modestly reduced total 

 EC tonnage and licenses, substantially increased the 

 annual payment, imposed a two-month annual fishing 

 ban on coastal and high-seas fisheries, and 

 strengthened enforcement provisions. The agreement 

 was linked, during the negotiations, to the signing of 

 a new 4-year EC-Morocco financial protocol for $660 

 million ($165 millon a year). The EC will get 



permits for around 600 vessels (down from 730), 

 including 143 high-seas licenses (140 Spanish, three 

 Greek). Most of the vessels are small trawlers. 

 There is a quota of 28 licenses for tuna vessels. 



Other provisions include a mid-term review in 

 1994, with the ability for Morocco to suspend 

 licenses for fishing rules violators. There will be a 

 continuation of the preferential marketing 

 arrangement for Moroccan canned fish, unlimited 

 amounts of which will enter the EC duty-free after 

 1996. The EC will provide a $7 million credit for 

 training. A new feature in the 1992 agreement is 

 Morocco's right to station as many as 300 fishery 

 observers aboard EC vessels. Around 85 observers 

 were hired by March 1993. 



 Japan 



Since 1985, Morocco and Japan have annually 

 renewed a bilateral fishing treaty. The August 1992 

 agreement allows up to 30 Japanese tuna vessels to 

 follow the northward tuna migration along the 

 Moroccan coast each year. Tonnages are minimal 

 but Moroccan authorities believe that there is a fairly 

 important by-catch of more valuable species. 

 According to the terms of the 1992 Agreement, the 

 Japanese will pay $6,500 per vessel for three months 



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