Rabat – Moroccan ports have produced more than 645,000 tonnes of commercial fishing products in the first six months of 2022, marking a 21% increase from the same period in 2021.
The numbers came in the latest statistical report by Morocco’s National Port Office (ONP), which detailed the performance for the year thus far from various ports throughout Morocco.
The total value of these products came to nearly MAD 5 billion ($500 million), which is a 7% increase from the first six months of 2021.
Performance between the individual ports varied greatly, however, with most exhibiting decreases in the quantity of products.
Nevertheless, the port of Tarfaya notably showed an increase of nearly 800% in the quantity of products, while the value of said products almost doubled that of last year.
Morocco has continued to tout an increase in 2022 in the value of maritime products and the performance of the fisheries sector in general, amid a global crisis that has affected some of the world’s biggest ports and producers.
Morocco and the EU joined forces earlier this year to strengthen Morocco’s fisheries sector, with the latter financing the project with a €250,000 budget.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) ranked Morocco first in Africa on the size of its fishing and aquaculture industry, with 1.4 million tonnes in fish production in 2018.
