The draft law approving the Russia-Morocco fisheries agreement has been adopted by the Moroccan Committee of Foreign Affairs, National Defence and Islamic Affairs. This agreement authorizes Russian ships to fish off the coast of Morocco.
Russia has been authorized to fish in the Moroccan Exclusive Economic Zone since 1992. Currently, an interim agreement signed in September 2020 is in force, as the previous agreement had expired and a new one has not yet been authorized.
According to the fishery quota agreed in the interim agreement, Russia is allowed to catch 140 thousand tonnes of pelagic fish per year. Access to the exclusive economic zone costs Russia USD 7 million per year. The shipowners pay an annual fee of 17.5% of the total value of fish products produced.
A week ago, the Russian Federal Agency for Fishery launched the application campaign calling Russian companies to reserve quota shares for fishing off the shore of Morocco. The agency has three offices in Africa: in Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal.