Sea fishing production in Morocco rose 2.3 percent annually in recent years in terms of quantity and 7.2 percent in terms of value.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Aziz Akhannouch noted that production stands at 1.37 million tons, which is 83 percent of the specified target in Halieutis program to develop the sector between 2010 and 2020.
He made his remarks during a press conference on the sidelines of the Halieutis expo in Agadir that is seeing the participation of 300 exhibitors from 40 countries.
The value of sea fishing output totaled MAD11.6 billion (USD1.3 billion) and the volume of fish exports reached 717,000 tons, marking an annual growth average of 5 percent during this period.
The value of these exports reached MAD22 billion (USD2.3 billion), representing 9 percent of the country’s exports and 45 percent of its food industries exports.
Akhannouch added that the sea fishing sector currently offers jobs for 108,000 on boats and 97,000 on land, noting that key goals include increasing the local consumption of fish and raising the sector’s contribution in achieving food security.
Per capita consumption of fish in Morocco rose from 11 kg to 14 kg since the launch of the program eight years ago.
During this period, the sector attracted MAD2.6 billion (USD295 million) in private investments, MAD2.2 billion (USD274 million) of them were for new licenses.
Akhannouch stated that the annual growth rate of investments in processing industries related to sea fishing reached 13 percent.
