undercurrentnews.com
Matilde Mereghetti
The Moroccan octopus season is set to kick off on June 30, one month after the usual date.
This was decided last week by the country’s government, following a meeting of the octopus fishery monitoring committee, sources told Undercurrent News.
At the meeting, a presentation by the Moroccan fishery directorate pointed to a decrease compared with previous years in catches during the previous campaign.
During the last season, the offshore fishery achieved 48% of the allocated quota, the inshore fishery 69% of the quota and the artisanal fishery 99% of the quota, it was said in the meeting. On average, 65% of the quota was reached.
A second presentation at the meeting indicated yields of other cephalopod species also decreased. As a result, they recommended delaying the resumption of fishing, due to the high presence of juveniles in some of the areas.
A third presentation at the meeting highlighted progress in monitoring fisheries infringements and actions taken to make traceability.
At the meeting, debate focused on the “biologically disturbing situation of the fishery” and the “alarming decline in the fish resource”.
The decline in catches “could only be saved thanks to the improvement in prices”, the ministry said in a document.
The proposed delay in the resumption of fishing was described as an action to improve the resource’s availability.
“The impact of intermediaries on the excessive increase in the price of fish has been blacklisted, especially since the margins taken are excessively high compared to the price of producers,” the ministry said, commenting on the issue of record high Moroccan octopus prices.
Contact the author matilde.mereghetti@undercurrentnews.com
