A scientific report by Morocco’s National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH, per its French acronym) indicates the nation’s cephalopod catch is down by 60 percent, most significantly in the southern part of the country, according to Morocco-based news site Le Reporter.
According Le Reporter, word in the industry is that the current decline is due to poaching by an “octopus mafia.” There has been lax enforcement of the ban on fishing during the biological rest period, and the longstanding issue of smuggling of illegally caught octopus continues unabated.
The INRH report was released on 24 May during a meeting of the country’s octopus-fishing committee. The committee went on to push back the summer octopus season by a month, from 1 June to 30 June, due to the reported decline in the local octopus population.
Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal are major exporters of octopus, primarily to Asia and Europe. The Moroccan octopus stock crashed due to overfishing in 2003, and the committee said it would like to avoid a repeat of that situation. Morocco has uncovered octopus-smuggling rings in the past, but the country’s spotty enforcement record has not been enough to deter criminal activity, according to Le Reporter.
In response to the decline in the local octopus stock, a select committee of professionals and members of the Moroccan Ministry of Fisheries was created during the commission meeting to recommend countermeasures to combat illegal fishing and sales of octopus, and the commission on 25 May decided formarlly requested government intervention to prevent illegal fishing during the current fishing moratorium.