Morocco has adopted an integrated monitoring approach, control and surveillance of fishing activities, regulatory measures and an effective traceability system which allows to define the origin of fishery products at all levels of the value chain to combat illegal and unregulated fishing.
Moroccan authorities provide control from upstream to downstream;
- Offshore control of vessels by the Royal Gendarmerie and the Royal Navy, and by VMS (satellite tracking device by the National Center for the Monitoring of Fishing Vessels). For vessels under agreement and tuna fishing, monitoring is also provided by observers from the Department of Maritime Fisheries onboard the vessels.
- Landing and auction control consisting of the inspection of vessels, fishing gear, catches and documents (catch reporting and fishing logbook), systematic identification and weighing and crosschecking with data from the declaration of catches, and inspection and verification of the catches to be spread, spread and sold.
- Control in the document value chain and exploitation of internal traceability at the establishment level.
Morocco has instituted a catch certification procedure to, on the one hand, strengthen the monitoring and control of compliance with fisheries management and management measures, and on the other hand meet the requirements of the international market. This certification makes it possible to ensure that products landed by national vessels come from catches made in accordance with the laws and regulations of the maritime fisheries. The Moroccan Maritime Fisheries Department has invested in a fully computerized process for this catch certification procedure ensuring the traceability and verification required by this procedure (automation of declarations and traceability of catches).