Morocco, Mauritania upgrade their partnership for fisheries sustainable management

The Moroccan Confederation of Industrial Pelagic Fishing Shipowners (COMAIP) and Mauritania’s National Fisheries Federation (FNP) have adopted a groundbreaking joint declaration establishing coordinated management of Atlantic African coastal fishery resources,particularly small pelagic species.

Following two days of negotiations in Dakhla (June 2-3),both parties achieved a shared vision grounded in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea principles and FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing. This major advancement in fisheries cooperation builds upon the 2022 Morocco-Mauritania maritime fishing and aquaculture agreement and the February 2025’s Agadir declaration of intent.

COMAIP President Mohamed Lamine Hormatallah emphasized that while Agadir’s joint declaration embodied “a common vision of a shared future,” the Dakhla accord “gives substance to this vision through concrete actions.” The agreement addresses critical preservation challenges for fishery resources considered strategic for food security,coastal development,and regional ecological balance.

FNP President Hamadi Baba Hamadi,in a statement read on his behalf,stressed that “preservation and rational exploitation of these fisheries require consultation and collaboration to implement exploitation policies ensuring resource sustainability for current and future generations.”

The Dakhla meeting highlighted by the setting up of a joint COMAIP-FNP committee tasked with facilitating regular exchange of scientific,technical,and socio-economic information regarding shared stocks while proposing coordinated management measures based on independent scientific advice. The committee will collaborate with both countries’ fisheries research centers to implement common monitoring and evaluation systems.

The two parties committed to jointly advocating with respective authorities for strengthened bilateral scientific and technical cooperation in shared stock assessment and adoption of coherent regulatory frameworks aligned with international recommendations,marking a significant step toward sustainable regional fisheries management.