The Canadian International Development Agency 

 sponsored an exhibit in Casablanca entitled "Maritime 

 Fisheries and Ancillary Industries" in March 1990 

 which featured Canadian fisheries technology and 

 expertise. In 1991, the agency held a fisheries 

 seminar in Casablanca for West African countries. 

 Canada has granted three years of technical assistance 

 to the scientific maritime fisheries institute (ISPM) to 

 improve Moroccan fisheries statistics. A Canadian 

 team recently participated in a study on the feasibility 

 of the now-established Saidia Aquaculture industry 

 near Saidia, at the Algerian border. The only new 

 project under consideration at the moment is for 

 satellite imaging to aid in fisheries enforcement. 



5. Shipbuilding 



crews. A "Moroccanization" edict was technically in 

 effect as of January 1, 1993, requiring vessel owners 

 to hire at least 50 percent Moroccan crews. The 

 Moroccan government aims for 65 percent Moroccan 

 crews by 1996. 



Counting the 140-odd EC trawlers, the total fleet 

 in Morocco's EEZ approaches 600 trawlers in a 

 fishery which some experts claim can optimally 

 support only half that number. By December 1992, 

 around 70 of 450 Moroccan high seas trawlers were 

 inactive because their owners could no longer afford 

 to operate them. The Government of Morocco 

 apparently hopes to avert an industry shakeout by its 

 February 1992 announcement of financial aid for the 

 troubled trawler companies. 



The shipbuilding industry in Morocco is 

 primarily limited to wooden sardine vessels. These 

 ships are built in several places in Morocco, most 

 notably Essouira. Most of the metal hulled vessels, 

 including the stern trawlers, had once belonged to 

 Spanish-Moroccan joint ventures. Ownership has 

 now been transferred to Moroccans. No new fishing 

 licenses are being issued. Despite this, the local 

 shipbuilding industry has continued to produce 

 wooden sardine vessels in the hope of obtaining 

 exceptions. There is no incentive to import fishing 

 vessels. 



6. Transshipments 



Most of the domestic fleet now operates out of 

 Agadir, where it was "repatriated." Despite the 

 repatriation, the Spanish port of Las Palmas in the 

 Canary Islands continues to play an important role in 

 Moroccan fisheries. EC trawlers continue to unload 

 significant amounts of fish (mainly cephalopods) 

 caught in Moroccan waters in Las Palmas, out of 

 sight of Government of Morocco officials. 



7. Moroccan High-seas Fleet 



The high-seas fleet counts about 60 active 

 companies with some 450 stern freezer-trawlers 

 costing $2-3 million apiece, weighing 300-350 tons 

 each, and averaging 12 years old. Vessels are 

 generally 30 - 45 meters in length, with steel hulls. 

 Many of these vessels at one time belonged to 

 Spanish-Moroccan joint ventures but now most have 

 passed to Moroccan ownership. Voyages last one to 

 three months, with mostly Korean and Chinese 



The Moroccan high-seas fleet registered big gains 

 in 1991, producing an 11 percent larger catch 

 compared with the previous year (147, 838 tons 

 versus. 133, 396 tons) that fetched 17 percent more 

 in the marketplace (2.72 billion Dirham compared 

 with the 2.33 billion Dirham 1990 catch). The high- 

 seas catch (cephalopods and whitefish) is the most 

 valuable part of the total catch, representing 30 

 percent of tonnage but 64 percent of the total value of 

 Morocco's fisheries production. 



Around two-thirds of the 1991 high-seas catch 

 was cephalopods (squid, octopus, and cuttlefish), 

 almost none of which are consumed locally. 

 Morocco produced 58 percent more cephalopods by 

 weight in 1991 compared with 1990 (97,246 tons 

 versus. 61, 519 tons). The bigger catch yielded a 55 

 percent rise in value (2.73 billion versus. 1.76 

 billion), which is more money than Morocco earned 

 on sardine and fresh fish exports combined. 



The showpiece of Morocco's high seas fishing 

 industry is the Omnium Marocain de Peche (OMP) 

 fleet at Tan Tan, where OMP owns and operates its 

 own port facilities. The complex stands on a site that 

 10 years ago was undeveloped desert. Since 1987, 

 when most of Morocco's fleet was still based in Las 

 Palmas, OMP and its subsidiaries have been landing 

 catches, taking on provisions, and effecting repairs 

 exclusively in Morocco. With 42 trawlers, OMP and 

 its subsidiaries processed 16,000 tons of fresh fish 

 and cephalopods in Africa. The firm earned $33 

 million in fish exports in 1991, or 5.5 percent of the 

 national total. The firm wants to add on-shore fish 

 processing capacity to enhance profitability. 



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