Undercurrent News
The authorities of Morocco assigned a fish catch quota of 100,000 metric tons to Russia this year in its economic zone according to a protocol on the results of the second session of the Russia-Morocco mixed commission for fisheries,reported the news agency ITAR-TASS.
The protocol was signed by Ilya Shestakov, Russian deputy minister of agriculture and the head of the federal agency for fishery, and Zakiya Driouch, secretary-general of the sea fisheries department of the Moroccan ministry of agriculture and sea fisheries.
Shestakov told ITAR-TASS in an interview: “The sides have agreed that this year Russia will catch fish in line with the previously-set quota of 100,000t. However, the protocol points out that before October this year the sides will also hold a special session of the mixed commission to review the work of scientific organizations and mull over reconsidering the size of fish catch quotas upwardly.”
“This is an important aspect. I think that we have got prospects in this respect, since the stocks of marine biological resources in Morocco’s zone are really good and make it possible to speak of the possibility of an increase in fish catch by Russian companies,” Shestakov added.
Morocco and Russia signed a new fisheries agreement on Feb. 14 last year. The four-year deal, the sixth of its kind since 1992, continued to allow 10 Russian trawlers access to Moroccan waters.
Signed in Agadir, the agreement replaced the one signed in June 2010 in Moscow, which had expired in June 2012.
According to past media reports the financial compensation agreed upon was twice as high as in the previous deal, while charges on catches have been raised by 40%.
.
