Thursday, April 27, 2023 – 18:24
In the government’s first response to criticism by professional bodies of Spanish fishermen who accuse their Moroccan counterparts of fishing in their country’s maritime domain and using methods that violate the law, the official spokesperson for the government threatened to punish those involved in this type of violation.
Mustafa Paytas, Minister Delegate in charge of Relations with Parliament and the official spokesperson for the government, said in a press interview following the meeting of the Government Council today, Thursday in Rabat, that “problems related to the field of marine fishing between Morocco and Spain are normal for them to occur from time to time.”
Paytas said in response to a journalist’s question on the subject: “It is natural that there are from time to time some problems related to this field, especially by some fishing processors in the Mediterranean region between Morocco and Spain.”
The same minister added that “Morocco is very keen to enforce respect for the requirements and understandings in force, and to apply all legal requirements against every Moroccan fisherman who commits any breach, whether in the field of fishing or the use of some illegal tools and methods.”
This position comes two days after a Spanish fishermen’s professional body published a strongly worded statement accusing Moroccan fishermen of violating Spain’s maritime space in the Mediterranean.
The same authority published a video documenting the deployment of long nets by a fishing boat in the councils, working to dredge fish and catch them illegally. And that is during the night period so as not to draw attention to these “illegal” practices, calling for efforts to stop these practices, “which have become normal and familiar to Moroccan fishermen.”
It is noteworthy that such incidents and mutual criticisms between Moroccan and Spanish fishermen have been the subject of controversy and tensions over the past years, due to the narrow space that separates the two countries at the level of the Mediterranean, which is known for its diverse and high-quality fish wealth.