(Brussels) – Morocco has a clear vision concerning its fisheries strategy, which was devised to ensure a sustainable and competitive fishing that takes into account the preservation of fisheries resources, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Aziz Akhannouch said on Wednesday in Brussels.
The government launched several projects aiming notably at boosting catches, creating competitiveness centers and developing aquaculture, said Akhanouch, who was speaking during the signing ceremony of the new protocol to the partnership agreement in the sector of fisheries between Morocco and the EU.
Akhannouch reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to preserve its fisheries resources to ensure sustainable fishing.
Morocco is also called upon to reinforce its role in terms of international cooperation in the fisheries sector, the Minister added.
The Moroccan official underscored that the signing of this protocol reflects the interest of the two parties to establish a cooperation framework in the sector of fisheries on the basis of common objectives on top of which, the preservation of fisheries resources and the fishing sustainability.
In this respect, Akhannouch deemed that the adoption of the protocol will enable a rapid launch of negociations to boost bilateral cooperation in line with Morocco’s fisheries strategy, “Halieutis Plan”.
On the same occasion, the Minister shed light on the institutional reforms witnessed in Morocco, notably following the approval by referendum of Morocco’s new constitution.
The new “innovative and ambitious” supreme law, Akhannouch said, puts Morocco on path of modernity and democracy.
The minister also recalled the recent granting by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly of the “Partner for Democracy” to Morocco, the first non-Assembly member country to benefit from such a status.
On the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Akhannouch pointed that Morocco assumes the General Secretariat of the Union which aims, inter alia, to support development efforts south of the Mediterranean.
The protocol, which expired on February, was extended for one year, thus enabling European ships to fish the Moroccan waters according to a set of conditions and control modalities.
The two sides had last February extended the fisheries agreement for one year, running until March 2012.
