Morocco is set to launch 24 aquaculture projects in Souss-Massa, to include 20 shellfish farming in Imi Ouaddar, Imsouane, and Tifnit and 4 seaweed farming in Sidi Rbat. The North African country’s target is to bolster the economic value of the multi-million-dollar sector.
The aquaculture projects fall within the National Agency for the Development of Aquaculture’s plan to boost the sector in the Souss-Massa region. With a total budget of MAD 248 million ($27.2 million), ANDA forecasts production of 13,000 tons by 2023, in addition to the creation of 319 direct jobs. This was followed by the government injecting MAD 13 million (US$1.4 million) for the establishment of a packaging factory and valuation units for aquaculture products in Imi Ouaddar, Souss-Massa. The Moroccan facility will need more than 9,000 tons of shellfish and seaweed per year and is set to create job opportunities.
Morocco earned MAD 15.3 billion (US$1.66 billion) from the export of fish and seafood in the first nine months of 2020. The total exported amounts are 570,000 tons, a 7% rise from the corresponding period in 2019.
Canned sardines were the country’s highest exported product by volume, amounting to 116,850 tons worth MAD 3.6 billion (US$389.44 million). The highest-earning exported seafood is frozen mollusks including octopus recorded a significant annual rise of 28%. These exports reached a total volume of 83,075 tons and a value of MAD 5.1 billion (US$551.71 million).
Fish oil exports on the other hand witnessed the highest annual increase in volume at 40%. As of September, the country had exported 32,7400 tons of fish oil for revenue of MAD 553.3 million (US$59.86 million) to France, the Netherlands, and China.
This growing sector of aquaculture in Morocco is attracting foreign investment. The project aims to train local aquaculture technicians and providing them with professional expertise for upcoming projects set to launch along the country’s Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. In addition to welcoming investments and creating jobs, the new project will also improve the quality of life of seafarers who engage in aquaculture.
The funding comes to support structural investments for the development of aquaculture in Souss-Massa, and support initiatives of fishermen’s and young entrepreneurs’ cooperatives.
Aquaculture in Morocco dates back to 1956, thanks to a French oyster farmer who created the first oyster park in the lagoon of the city of Oualidia, 176 kilometers from Casablanca.