Elite food on the roads .. When Morocco benefits from aquaculture?

Mariam Taidi-Oualidia / Morocco

Served in gourmet restaurants, the "gourmets" boast of eating raw and elite food, but in the city of Oualidia (south of Casablanca) may encounter oysters and the finest sea shells at a street vendor.

Mohammed, 26, turns his professional career from a construction worker to an oyster peddler every summer season.

He carries shells and a variety of oysters on his bicycle and strolls through the streets of the city, with a sharp knife, lemon kernels, oyster opening technology and a smile.

Mohammed knows that not all of his customers are oyster lovers, some of whom like to experience the taste, so he knows how to convince those who intend to trade and stimulate the benefits of raw oysters and nutritional value.

Festival and radiation
In an unusual view in other cities, holidaymakers and visitors to the city stand to buy zwitter, lemon juice, some of them preparing a longstick and royal croissant barbecue on the lakes, as well as fine fish-origin dishes offered by restaurants. .

The Oualidia, or "Jewel of the Ocean", is an ancient fishermen's village, which today is known for its national and international radiation thanks to its wealth of oysters and crustaceans, which are recognized for quality by all visitors to the region, Moroccans and foreigners.

The Oualidia has an oyster plant with seven active oyster farms and an annual oyster festival.

Old activity
The first investment experiences in mariculture in Morocco date back to the mid-1950s, when oyster farming was introduced into the Oualidia region.

Aquaculture refers to aquaculture in coastal and inland areas to enhance production.

According to international fishery expert Mohamed Naji, aquaculture in Morocco is an ancient activity that began in the 1950s, and remained at a modest level until 2009 with the launch of the UTIS strategy (a strategy launched by Morocco in 2009 to develop the fisheries sector and examine the main challenges facing it). And the establishment of the National Aquaculture Development Agency in 2011.

A study entitled "Aquaculture in Morocco: Qualifications and the Necessity of Development" reported that in 2016, the aquaculture sector in Morocco produced a total of 510 tonnes with a market value of 21 million dirhams ($ 2.1 million).

The oysters account for 72% of the total and aquaculture production in Morocco, 26% of the total aquaculture production, mainly to the domestic market to supply retailers, hotel and restaurant markets.

According to the National Agency for the Development of Mariculture, oyster farming is the main activity in the field of mariculture in Morocco with a production of more than 400 tons per year and a significant number of construction projects in Dakhla and others.

Stage to study
Al-Naji, an accredited expert at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), explained to Al Jazeera Net that the National Agency for Aquaculture Development and Development (NADA) has been studying projects and formulation schemes, through an in-depth study of the natural qualifications and potentials available for farming along the coast.

Morocco aspires to make aquaculture an engine of growth in the fisheries sector, but "its objectives have been very ambitious in terms of potential and reality," said the survivor.

Mohammed Naji explains that the preparation schemes have reached the final stages, and that the foundations of aquaculture were built, pointing out that some projects are in the process of being downloaded, and that the next stage is the stage of investment and production development.

Late agenda
Ten years after the launch of the Eliotis strategy and eight years since the establishment of the IAEA, Morocco is still moving in its place on the development and production of aquaculture, and most offerings still show that the sector is in its infancy.

The strategy for the development of the aquaculture sector was to produce 200,000 tonnes by 2020 and to reach 11% of the total marine fishery production, which is expected to reach 1.75 million tonnes in the same year.

In this context, Mohammed Naji considers that the objectives were not accurate in the scheduling, and that the sector needed a long period of study, pointing out that the agency started out of a vacuum, both in the legislative side or in the study of projects, and spent time in scientific and technical research and identify suitable species for cultivation according to Each region, and built the necessary foundations, and this is important, as he put it.

In the view of the survivor, the Moroccan coast does not provide naturally protected areas and is subject to climatic fluctuations, which makes aquaculture require large investments and expensive equipment.

Naji said that the catalytic aspect of the sector is very weak, and that investment can not be launched in this sector and reach the objectives set for it without a stimulus policy, pointing out that the experiences at the Mediterranean level relied on a catalytic device.

According to the survivor, the aquaculture sector is aware of several other obstacles, including the legal aspect of exploitation of the field and the competition it knows between sectors.

The sector also faces the marketing challenge of its products exceeding the purchasing power of citizens, which necessitates increasing production to reduce costs.

Is expected to launch 140 new projects in the sector soon, will Morocco cross the threshold of beginnings and move towards the goal of its strategy? Or stop at studies?