An agreement between Russia and Morocco, providing access to Russian fishing vessels to Moroccan Atlantic waters, refers primarily to mackerel and horse mackerel.
‘The cooperation agreement signed between our countries will enable Russian fishermen to operate effectively and sustainably. Fishing companies have confirmed their willingness to increase their catches in this area,’ said head of Russia’s Federal Fisheries Agency Ilya Shestakov.
‘This concerns pelagic species, primarily mackerel and horse mackerel. Furthermore, the Moroccan side has expressed its willingness to allocate quotas for the catch of valuable bottom fish species, subject to the interest of Russian companies. This is one of the promising areas of our cooperation.’
In recent years, the maximum annual Russian catch in Morocco’s Atlantic fishing zone has been approximately 60,000 tonnes. Under this new agreement, this is expected to rise to 90,000-100,000 tonnes.
Catches from Moroccan waters are to be shipped to Russia for processing, as well as to the African market. Moroccan fishermen (approximately 10% of the crew) traditionally work on board Russian fishing vessels, supporting employment in the region.
The agreement was reached at a recent intergovernmental meeting, and signed by deputy PM Dmitry Patrushev, Agency head Ilya Shestakov, and Moroccan minister for foreign affairs Nasser Bourita.
A further aspect of the agreement extends to scientific research.
‘We conduct annual research in the Moroccan region, and we have intensified this work as part of the Great African Expedition,’ Ilya Shestakov said.
‘We will continue this work within the framework of the agreement – the Russian side plans to conduct annual research to assess stock replenishment of small pelagic fish species. This data will be used both to set fishing quotas for our fishermen and to determine the total allowable catch in the region.’
