Morocco joins UN-backed program to strengthen management of marine fisheries
Project will concentrate on small pelagic species such as sardines and anchovies amid declining landings
MOROCCO – Morocco has joined the Global Marine Commodities 2 (GMC2) initiative, a five-year international program designed to improve the management and sustainability of marine fisheries, according to an announcement released on March 10 by the State Secretariat for Maritime Fisheries.
The initiative is coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme and financed by the Global Environment Facility, and it is already operating in Mauritania, Senegal, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Panama with a focus on encouraging responsible fishing and improving the governance of marine resources.
Through the program, participating countries are expected to introduce environmental and social standards across seafood supply chains, improve the systems used to oversee fishing activities, and increase the market value of products obtained through sustainable practices.
Technical guidance for the project will be provided by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, an organization that works with governments and industry groups to introduce practices aimed at maintaining healthy fish stocks and improving transparency across seafood supply networks.
Focus on small pelagic fisheries
Within Morocco, the project will focus on fisheries targeting small pelagic species, particularly sardines and anchovies, which play a major role in the country’s fishing sector and supply both domestic processors and export markets.
Authorities say activities planned under the program include improving access to scientific and technical data on fish populations, strengthening monitoring of fish stocks, and expanding cooperation between countries that share marine resources.
The effort also aims to encourage the consumption of seafood sourced from supply chains that follow sustainability guidelines, while improving the flow of information used by policymakers and industry participants.
Concerns about the condition of Morocco’s fish stocks have increased in recent years as industry groups report declining catches and ongoing problems linked to illegal fishing and the capture of juvenile fish.
In June 2025, the National Union of Fish Canning Industries warned that sardine populations were shrinking, citing data from the National Fisheries Office showing that landings dropped 46% over two years, from 965,000 tonnes in 2022 to 525,000 tonnes in 2024.
The organization attributed the fall partly to the harvesting of immature fish, enforcement gaps in tackling illegal fishing, and biological rest periods that industry participants consider poorly aligned with fish reproduction cycles.
Expansion of international cooperation
Morocco’s participation in the GMC2 program follows several other agreements related to fisheries management, including a memorandum of understanding signed in February 2025 between the Moroccan Confederation of Industrial Pelagic Fishing Vessel Owners and the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean.
Earlier cooperation initiatives also saw Morocco provide scientific expertise in 2023 to support fish stock assessments in Benin, Liberia, and Ivory Coast under agreements linked to the Blue Belt Initiative conference.
According to data compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization, Morocco recorded fishery catches of about 1.39 million tonnes in 2023, accounting for 13.2% of Africa’s total supply of 10.5 million tonnes that year.
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