World sardine capital - Morocco

Morocco is endowed with numerous exploitable resources. With approximately 33,000 square miles of arable land and its generally temperate Mediterranean climate, Morocco’s agricultural potential is matched by very few other African countries. Early this year, 2022, The Moroccan ministry of fisheries stated that canned sardines represented 53% of total seafood exports in 2021 which is half of the world’s production of sardines.

For a long time, Morocco’s fishing industry has been an economic pillar for the country. The kingdom became the largest fish market in Africa, with an estimated total catch of 1,084,638 megatons as far back as in 2001. Today Morocco is the world's leading producer and exporter of canned sardines and accounts for 53% of the world's production of sardines. Morocco exported 90% of its sardines to 100 countries in 2021 and its major export destination is the United Kingdom, where 60% of Morocco’s sardines go to.
Morocco’s fishing sector has created thousands of jobs in the country, and according to government estimates, the number of direct and indirect jobs are 400,000, including 104,000 fishermen. The small-scale fisheries sector lags far behind other branches of the fishing industry owing to the lack of infrastructure and of harbour facilities and plant.
The fishing grounds in the Canary Current off Morocco's west coast are exceptionally rich in sardines, bonito, and tuna, but the country lacks the modern fleets and processing facilities to benefit fully from these marine resources. An important part of a major trade agreement Morocco concluded with the European Union in 1996 concerned fishing rights, by which the EU pays Morocco an annual fee to allow vessels, mainly Spanish to fish Moroccan waters, in exchange for an economic compensation programme, which the National Fishery Office of Morocco till date, uses to boost modernization and enhancements of its domestic fishery sector.

Morocco currently has seven wholesale markets, 22 fishing ports, 22 large halls and units for industrial fish, but despite this height, Morocco is far behind in terms of the consumption of sardines. Inside the country, people do not have this habit of sardine consumption, because sardines are rare in the local markets. If found, their prices are unaffordable and inaccessible for the average Moroccans.
Morocco holds a strategic yearly festival to promote and encourage local consumption of sardines. This festival is usually held simultaneously in five beaches of the kingdom, the Sardine Festival aims to promote local consumption of fresh sardines and to highlight its value as a flagship for the national fish production, as well as to raise awareness about the benefits of sardines to health.

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