Russia, Morocco to sign new four-year fishing agreement - fisheries agency

MOSCOW. March 17 (Interfax) - Russia and Morocco plan to sign another four-year fishing agreement, as the previous document, which went into effect in 2020, expired at the end of 2024.

"We submitted a draft order to the government on the signing of a new agreement with the Moroccan side for four years and with the option of extension for another four years," the head of Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency, Ilya Shestakov told reporters.

He said all issues related to this have already been discussed. "After the signing, we'll be able to catch 80,000 tonnes of fish in Morocco's exclusive economic zone this year," Shestakov said.

Russia primarily catches sardines, sardinella, mackerel and anchovies in Morocco's economic zone. Russian fishermen also operate in Mauritania's economic zone.

Speaking in general about the outlook for the fish catch in African waters, Shestakov said it could increase significantly as a result of the Great African Expedition, which began in August 2024. The research expedition is doing a study of fish stocks in the exclusive economic zones of 19 African countries. The first phase of the expedition surveyed the waters of Morocco, Mauritania, the Republic of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

"As a result of the estimate of stocks we hope that we'll get the right to fish in the zones of other African countries," Shestakov said. Russia could also secure larger fishing quotas for various types of fish.