Coastal Fishing: Landings Up 19% by End of September, Their Value Barely 6%

12/10/2026

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oroccan nets are coming back heavier, but the takings are not keeping pace. According to the National Fisheries Office (ONP), coastal and small-scale fishing marketed 965,832 tonnes over the first nine months of 2026, 19% more than a year earlier, for 8.69 billion dirhams, up just 6%.

A row of fishing boats with blue masts packed along a concrete quay under a blue sky. — Coastal fishing boats moored at the quay in the port of Laayoune. Photo: YoTuT, CC BY 2.0.

Pelagic fish carry most of the momentum, at 812,567 tonnes (+25%) and 3.03 billion dirhams (+20%). Cephalopods, at 49,383 tonnes, are worth 3.91 billion dirhams on their own, while white fish fell 13%.

Laayoune remains by far the leading port, with 247,572 tonnes (+41%), and Tan-Tan jumped 73%, while Agadir fell 55%.

Essaouira sums up the gap between weight and value: its landings rose 63%, yet their value dropped 20%. The Mediterranean, from Tangier to Saidia, follows the same slope, with volumes up 7% for a value down 10%.

The season, then, belongs to small pelagics, plentiful but lower-priced.

Photo: World Imaging, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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