Abhatoo - Centre Nationale de Documentation

With its rich blue assets in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco has a high potential for developing its Blue Economy.
The country has a wealth of marine resources underpinned by high levels of biodiversity, with over 600 identified fish species. In total, Morocco’s coastal areas contribute 59 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provide 52 percent of its jobs. The fisheries sector alone contributes 1.5 percent of GDP and provides 700,000 direct and indirect jobs. According to the Government of Morocco’s Office des Changes (Exchange Office), the fisheries sector produces 7.1 percent of total exports.
The growth of Morocco’s Blue Economy has historically been hindered by limited intersectoral cooperation, fragmented policies, and lack of integrated budget-planning across blue sectors.
Recognizing the challenges that Morocco’s Blue Economy faces, the Government of Morocco initiated an integrated planning processes in 2015 with the adoption of its Coastal Law, national and regional coastal plans, and the National Sustainable Development Strategy, which was adopted in 2017. However, strategy to coordinate blue sectoral approaches was limited. Consequently, siloed and sector-specific processes led to inefficient resource use and, in some cases, contributed to user conflict over coastal and maritime resources. Lack of coordination has also reduced investment opportunities, in effect hindering potential job creation and business development, especially for those who are underrepresented in the sector such as women, youth, and artisanal fishing groups.
In 2019, His Majesty King Mohammed VI called for a fresh approach to close the country’s development gaps. In May 2021, a special commission appointed by His Majesty the King published the New Development Model. This model includes a recommendation for the country to harness the full potential of its Blue Economy and develop existing and emerging blue sectors such as aquaculture, seaweed farming, and marine renewable energy. As a mechanism to boost the Blue Economy, the New Development Model calls for the development of coastal clusters to attract investment, wealth, and jobs while ensuring sustainability. The Government of Morocco also recently launched a decentralization process (régionnalisation avancée) that requires the establishment of public policy coordination procedures at the regional level. The New Development Model underscores this approach, calling for innovation and the mobilization of the private sector to develop the Blue Economy sector advantages in each region along the coast.
In 2021, the Government of Morocco also set a target to create 450,000 jobs in the maritime fishery and agri-food industries within five years as part of an overall effort to expand livelihoods and help the national economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The government’s 2020 Halieutis Strategy identified aquaculture as a subsector with high growth potential due to the steady growth of international and domestic demand for seafood. Together, these sectors contribute to a strong future for livelihoods based on Morocco’s Blue Economy.