Many Mediterranean fish stocks are in a worrying state, with alarming consequences for income and jobs in the Mediterranean fishing sector. To highlight the need for action, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Karmenu Vella, launched the campaign #MedFish4Ever. More than 80 representatives from EU institutions, European regions, business, and NGOs gathered at the European Commission stand at the Seafood Global Expo in Brussels for the launch event.
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The Minister of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries, Mr Aziz Akhannouch, was awarded, Thursday, April 28 in Meknes, the Spanish grand Cross of agriculture, fisheries and food merit, on the sidelines of the 11th edition of the Moroccan International Agriculture Fair (SIAM 2016) held in Meknes. "I could see it an encouragement to persevere in my efforts to be useful to my country and development of agriculture and sea fishing as well as to the continuous improvement of Moroccan-Spanish relations in these sectors" , noted Mr. Akhannouch who was awarded by his Spanish counterpart of Agriculture and environment, Mrs Isabel García Tejerina.
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As accustomed, INFOSAMAK took part in the 23rd edition of the Seafood expo Global 2016 that was held in Brussels, Belgium, from 21 to 23 April. The exposition features more than 1,700 exhibiting companies from over 70 countries. INFOSAMAK was present with a booth to promote the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the Arab Region, develop contacts with participant operators, as well as consolidate the cooperation means with the other Fish Info Network centers. In this respect, INFOSAMAK assisted organizing meetings between businessmen from its member countries and other countries.
Morocco and Russia signed on March 15th a cooperation agreement in the field of marine fisheries, on the occasion of the official visit of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in Moscow. This Agreement establishes the principles of cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Russian Federation regarding the conservation and exploitation of fishery resources in the Moroccan Exclusive Economic Zone, and defines the conditions for the exercise of fishing ships flying the Russian flag.
The agreement foresees the cooperation for the planning and carrying out scientific research campaigns necessary for the conservation and rational exploitation of fishery resources both within Morocco's Atlantic fishing area and beyond its limits, as well as cooperation in the field of technical and fishing technology, fish processing technologies and the development of aquaculture.
The adoption of a common regional strategy for the development of small scale fisheries (SSF) in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea region were recommended on March 9th, 2016 in Algiers at the end of the regional conference of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).
In this context, the participants in the three-day allocated to this important meeting called for the establishment of a technical assistance program in favor of the least developed countries in these two regions. An approach that should be preceded by the launch of a socio-economic study to collect data to identify the precise contribution of small scale fisheries (SSF) to the economy of each country.
The recommendations also include the need to involve fishermen in the management of protected marine areas and to promote intersectoral cooperation to ensure the safeguarding and development of small scale fisheries (SSF) as a profession, but also as an activity beneficial to the country's economy. Facilitating access to bank loans was one of the points defended by the experts of the GFCM, who advocate in parallel launching public programs for financing small-scale fishermen.
