A few weeks before the end of the fishing season and the volumes of octopus caught in Morocco's waters thus far are dismal. Octopus is becoming rare in this part of the world despite the nine month ban on fishing that was supposedly meant to replenish the depleted stocks in form of a biological rest. The trawlers that have been authorized for both high-sea and coastal fishing in Morocco have barely reached a maximum of 40% of their fishing quotas. The main reason is that there is virtually no octopus beyond the 30 miles from the coast. Faced with below-normal output, high-sea fishermen are asking the government to allow them to operate along the coastline, competing with a growing number of illegal fishing vessels.
Although officials are currently reviewing the fishermen's request to expand their operation zone to coastal areas, the final decision will have to be made by the fisheries research institution, Institut National de Recherche Halieutique (INRH), which has sent a research team on a special ship to analyze the state of the coastal area. Its mission is to assess whether the young octopus population can withstand mass fishing in its protected sanctuaries without a major consequence on the stocks.
A permission could help redress the situation in which fishermen are finding themselves. Their catches have been rapidly declining since the beginning of the season according to their association, Association Professionnelle des Armateurs de la Pche Hauturire au Maroc or APAPHAM. If in the beginning of the season their catches were between 200 and 250 cases per trawler per week, that number today fell to between 30 and 40. As of now, and at almost the end of the season, the catches have fallen below half of the quantities allowed this year, and the initially targeted quotas were already historically low. This season, the target set by authorities was 20,000 tons, in which 12,600 tons were to be generated by high-sea trawlers, 2,200 tons by mid-sized fishing boats and 5,200 tons by small fishing units that use traditional techniques.
The trend is bad news for fishermen and trawler owners, in particular after enduring nine months of inactivity. Their financial situation at this stage is grim and many are facing bankruptcy, in particular owners of high-sea trawlers. Despite this severe environment, most fishermen remain optimistic and hope they can catch up in the upcoming November to December 2004 season.
© The North Africa Journal 2004
