Halieutis Strategy, Morocco’s Pathway towards Blue Growth

Morocco is attaching utmost importance to safeguarding its maritime wealth and promoting the fisheries sector towards the  2020 Halieutis strategy.

The 2020 strategy has so far yielded positive returns, which were showcased at the fourth Halieutis Fair, an annual event that brings together professionals, scientists and policy makers to discuss issues relating to fisheries and the maritime sector.

During the event, held in Agadir, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, underscored the progress made by Morocco in developing the fisheries system through promoting the emergence of an industrial ecosystem as well as access to credit.

He told reporters at the Fair that the 2020 national Halieutis strategy enabled since its launch in 2009 “the achievement of considerable outcomes with positive impact on the national economy.”

“The fisheries sector is steadily developing in terms of production, exports and investments thanks notably to the modernization of its infrastructures,” he said.

In this respect, he said that national fisheries production grew from 950,000 tons in 2011 to 1,460,000 tons in 2016, that is 88% of the goals fixed by the 2020 Halieutis strategy.

Following the same growing trend, Morocco’s fisheries exports hit 642,000 tons in 2015, posting a 10% growth compared to 2014, with a steady annual growth rate of 5% during the 2010-2015 period, said the Minister.

These exports generated 19.4 billion dirhams in 2015, making up 48% of the overall revenues of agri-food exports, and fulfilling thus 65% of the goals of the 2020 Halieutis strategy, Akhannouch said.

The increasing investments in the fisheries sector have had a positive impact on employment with 129,000 new jobs created on sea in 2015 and 89,000 on land in 2016, he added.