Fisheries sector: Protection dynamic, exploitation and valorisation in full transformation.

With a maritime facade of 720 km long and an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 miles plus more than 234000 km2, Mauritania enjoys a natural maritime wealth with an average of 900000 tons catch per year and around 2000000 tons allowed catches.
The fisheries and maritime economy sector progress has been the fruit of many reforms that started in the first years of independence and a will in that period to make out of it a great player in the social and economic development in the country.
Step by step, the sector was open to local investors and they have been granted the possibility to create merger companies, fetch foreign boats,before the creation of private national fleets.
Despite the intervention of the government,and that through public financing,the incomes influences of the sector on the national economy remained very limited.
It is since the creation of the Mauritanian fish trading company (SMCP) and through taxes collection from exportation,currencies transfer made it possible to control production data, provide and contribute publics assets ,nourishing accounts in foreign currencies facilitating more imports opportinuties. This evolution was made serrated due to sedimentations of many old plannings, of taking into accounts particular interests and, usually with inconstency and improvisation,giving no clear view neither assurance for investent and not taking into consideration advantage of choices done by convincing results.From the free licenses policy to accurate gestion of resources to the benefit of integrated and durable development, a long road has been overstepped.
Significant resources under the control of persistent threats
The national maritime potential is one of the most important in the region but these resources have decreased through previous decades because of short term vision,mismanagement,gestion policies operating systems, climatic and economic factors.
The cyclic weakening of upwellings,changes in oceanographic conditions, more and more important fishing efforts and the big demands for fish oil and flour produced by FHP factories affects the potential of maritime resources.
The production of 1 kg of fish flour needs no less than 4 to 5 kilograms of fishes.
Nowadays, there are more than thirty FHP operating factories which exhibits huge exported and treated quantities, bringing about added value to employment mostly, part time and non qualified laborers.
The small pelagics which actually constitute 90% of catches are the most endangered.
In 2018,their capture volume reached more than 1.14 millions tons to, only ,40% of disembarkation value.
Among coastal activities, artisanal fishing is one of the ancient , and yet remain visible to populations riverside.And also one of the main source for their employment and local revenue.
The artisanal fishing provides 80% of the sector employment in whole.
Its planning based on seansonal different practiced jobs, however confers to huge evolution and adaptation based on environmental obligations (regulations, markets etc..)
Although these catches are only 10 % of captures in Mauritania, their disparity in cash and volume proves that its economic role is important compared to the percentage of total tonnage .
Globally, the fishing sector contributes around 8.9 billion MRU direct budget revenues, provides750 millions us $ country currency earnings, and contributes 6.8 billion MRU in the creation of local wealth. It also creates 66000 direct jobs and tens of thousands of indirect jobs.
By the income it generates and the existence of food source nearby, it contributes mainly in the fight against poverty and food security.
The quantities of fihes caught in 2018 reached 1.5 million tons all kinds included, and that ma inly due to growing pelagic sector, making our country one of the first fish producer s in the world.
It is today on small pelagic species that fishing effort is done; a pressure that will on and on increase because of the high demand on fish oil and flour.
The exclusive and economic Mauritanian zone ZEE waters are characterized by ichthyologic diversity comprising 600 species designated for captures which more than 200 are marketable as per the ministry of fisheries and economic maritime. This recovery is the result of application of management measures conducted by the Mauritanian authority with a goal to preserve stocks that will make positive evolution of the octopus ,a strategic species, which in 2019 went from overexploitation to full exploitation.
And also the signs of neglect to other twenty species has evolved on the rise; another factor reassuring the status of durable exploitation of pelagic resources( coastal and offshore),cross-border or overlapping, except round sardinella and horse mackerel which are in over exploitation status.
The small pelagic stocks exploited in Mauritania are characterised by their seasonal migration between different countries of the sub region according to their bio geographic affinity. Thus they are exploited by many fleets in different zones of north-western African countries.
It is about shared stocks which the durable management suggests conversation efforts between different countries.
The fishing policies are the responsibility of national sovereignty of each country, it is not always easy to neglect the national interest which suggests to better benefits for one’s state from this unstable resource by keeping relation of transnational solidarity in order to preserve the resources.
So the transnational dimensions of pelagic stocks, the estimated quantities are referring to the area of stock migration, and its evaluation and planning requires a solid action to be undertaken at the sub regional level.
The study done in 2019 by the group IMROP, estimates the global potential that can be captured in Mauritania by more than 1.3 million tons of pelagic.
Many marine species non exploited or under exploited can be object of enhancement giving window to new development perspectives and decreasing the pressure upon stocks the like of the small pelagic already over exploited(round sardinella, horse mackerel).
It is about mesopelagic that consist more than 100 species and which the quantity is important and count million of tons,offshore squid,in depth stocks(black hake,shrimps),clams where potentials are located off the coast of Banc d’Arguin as well as coastal tuna,offshore tuna exploited in irregular way or accessory for first species.
Actually ,research capacity is based on the follow-up of part of the resources such as cephalopods, some shellfish and main pelagic species that are under supervision within multilateral frame of CO-PACE(small pelagic) and ICCAT (tuna) in which Mauritania is fully participating.
Other species not important on the eco-biological, economic and social plan are not part of the regular follow up like the kind of species the croaker, the mulet, etc.
The aquatic environment in the ZEEM continue to be healthy, if we refer to low marine pollution , biotopes degradation and actual low coastline occupancy.
The development of new marine spaces requires putting strategy of adapted rules and strengthening of integrated managements for coastal and offshore territories.
In addition to anthropogenic pressures and threats on the marine environment, there is a present risk and impact caused by climate change which is clear in the coastal dynamic, especially in the southern zone of the Mauritanian coast.
The sum of all these evolutions suggests institutional and legal arrangements for a responsible and durable management for our marine and coastal patrimony, specially a follow of the resources status, compliance to rules regarding protection and preservation of fishery resources.
The fishery resources constitute a national patrimony which its preservation and management on scientific basis is a priority for the Mauritanian authority. Thus since 2015, the quota code system which is an innovation has been implemented in Mauritania for principal fisheries (shrimps ,lobsters, cephalopods, demersal species and small pelagic).
This new management system is a pace forward to attain our goal of durability to our fishery resources. In addition to all already done efforts, some adjustments are to be brought to enhance the management system efficiency. Its notably about the improvement of methods of fixation of TAC, refinement of quota allocation procedures,strict obedience to quota and management of fishing capacity,specially for artisanal fishing segment and its collective quota.