Pelagic fishing
Most pelagic fish are gregarious, meaning they live in groups and swim in schools. A shoal is made up of fish of the same size. It can be formed of several different species, each individual having almost the same length. Most of the member vessels practice what is known as offshore fishing or deep-sea fishing. It takes place outside the 8 to 12 miles depending on the area. Sea trips vary from 1 to 3 days, so the fish landed has been kept in refrigerated water.
The most practiced fishing technique is the pelagic trawl which is a towed net which evolves in open water, between the surface and the bottom, without being in contact with it. Its front part is made of simple ropes or very large meshes, which pull the shoals of fish towards the rear part of the net. The control of the immersion of the trawl is done by means of a sounder located at the front of the trawl, the netsonde. (source Ifremer). A fish is called pelagic when it lives in waters near the surface or between the surface and the bottom. Sardines, mackerel, horse mackerel… are the main species of pelagic fish present in our area of activity. Pelagic fish have blue-green backs, a coloration that protects them from marine predators and other birds. Most pelagic fish are gregarious, meaning they live in groups and swim in schools. A shoal is made up of fish of the same size. It can be formed of several different species, each individual having almost the same length. Most of the member vessels practice what is known as offshore fishing or deep-sea fishing. It takes place outside the 8 to 12 miles depending on the area. Sea trips vary from 1 to 3 days, so the fish landed has been kept in refrigerated water. The crew usually consists of 15 people. However, some member vessels are offshore purse seiners, using a rectangular net deployed at the surface to encircle schools of fish. Floats are fixed on the upper part while the lower part is weighted. A slide allows the lower part of the net to be stuffed.
Challenges
Following the return of our Saharan provinces to the homeland, the Kingdom of Morocco set out to develop these regions which suffered heavily from the Spanish occupation.
The development established by Morocco was essentially based on the potential of our Saharan provinces, particularly in the sectors of fishing, agriculture, tourism and mining. The fishing sector, which presents strong development challenges, has caught the attention of the public authorities, who have dedicated numerous specific management plans for the various species to it. Small pelagics represent the main target for which the members of our association have mobilized significant investments both at sea and on land, as shown in the table below.
