orocco’s first offshore fish farm was inaugurated on Friday, October 30, at Sidi Ifni by the minister delegate for maritime fisheries, Ahmed El Mehdi Mezouari.
Built by the National Institute of Fisheries Research, it sits about seven nautical miles from the port, on a 25-hectare concession, in 40 to 45 meters of water. Four floating cages, each 29 meters across, give an annual capacity of about 280 tonnes.
The trial, run from 2021 to 2026, confirmed that red seabream can be farmed on the open sea. After sixteen months the fish averaged 400 grams, and the installations stood up to seven-meter waves.
The project cost 50 million dirhams: 40 million from the Ministry of Maritime Fisheries, under the fisheries agreement with the European Union, 4 million from the Institute and 6 million from expected sales of the trial stock.
The reference is meant to draw investors, as the national mapping puts the potential at more than 300,000 tonnes over 24,000 hectares.
Photo: Benty2003, CC BY 4.0.
La Vie éco - Sidi Ifni : le Maroc inaugure sa première ferme piscicole offshore
Infomediaire - Sidi Ifni : inauguration de la première ferme piscicole offshore du Maroc
