The project intended to produce biomass and cyst of Artemia salina fed with culture
microalgae and subsequently dealt with kuruma prawn production, Penaeus
japonicus. It also assayed formulated food to sea bream, sea bass, and kuruma
prawn. After some years, the company ended their activity, and there have not
been any more attempts to culture crustacean in the Spanish Alboran Sea, mainly
due to the high price of the land in this area, which means that profitability of
extensive cultures is quite difficult.
Other species which are able to be cultured are sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus),
some species of seaweed as Ulva lactuca, and some sea anemones like Anemonia
sulcata. This last one is starting to be cultured in a farm in Granada, iMare Natural,
which is also dealing with sea cucumber, sea urchin, and samphire (Salicornia
europaea).
20.4 Aquaculture in Morocco
The history of marine aquaculture in Morocco began in the 1950s on its Atlantic
coasts and in the 1980s on its Mediterranean coasts, although aquaculture couldn’t
be sufficiently developed according to the national coast potentiality level.
According to Catanzano (1999), Morocco has not a strong aquaculture tradition,
and Moroccan aquaculture, both continental and marine, shows a weak development, particularly the marine branch (Orbi et al. 2011), which represents less than
0.1% of the national fishery production. Facing this situation, Morocco established,
in September 2009, a new development strategy for the maritime fishery sector,
known as “Halieutis Plan” (http://www.maroc.ma/fr/content/halieutis). This strategy
aimed to reinvigorate, in a sustainable manner, fisheries and aquaculture development and make them more competitive and more efficient. It provided a harmonious
development of means of fishery production, improving the living and working
conditions of fishermen, preserving natural resources and their exploitation sustainability, and encouraging marine aquaculture development. Therefore, marine aquaculture in Morocco started a new phase characterized by aiming at ensuring all
necessary development conditions. In this context, a new institution called “National
Agency for the Development of Aquaculture (ANDA)” was created and dedicated to
marine aquaculture development promotion (https://www.anda.gov.ma/fr/connaitrel-anda).
Since the implementation of this new strategy (Halieutis Plan), various studies
have been launched in different maritime regions of Morocco to identify and select
potential sites for aquaculture and to elaborate aquaculture activity development
plans upon a participative approach and an integrated and harmonious procedure.
Two aquaculture development plans have been achieved covering all the Mediterranean coasts of Morocco (ANDA 2019a, b). Identified projects are in fact still in the
process of being implemented, and they will eventually allow the national marine
aquaculture production to know an important upward trend.
688
A. Ortega et al.
microalgae and subsequently dealt with kuruma prawn production, Penaeus
japonicus. It also assayed formulated food to sea bream, sea bass, and kuruma
prawn. After some years, the company ended their activity, and there have not
been any more attempts to culture crustacean in the Spanish Alboran Sea, mainly
due to the high price of the land in this area, which means that profitability of
extensive cultures is quite difficult.
Other species which are able to be cultured are sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus),
some species of seaweed as Ulva lactuca, and some sea anemones like Anemonia
sulcata. This last one is starting to be cultured in a farm in Granada, iMare Natural,
which is also dealing with sea cucumber, sea urchin, and samphire (Salicornia
europaea).
20.4 Aquaculture in Morocco
The history of marine aquaculture in Morocco began in the 1950s on its Atlantic
coasts and in the 1980s on its Mediterranean coasts, although aquaculture couldn’t
be sufficiently developed according to the national coast potentiality level.
According to Catanzano (1999), Morocco has not a strong aquaculture tradition,
and Moroccan aquaculture, both continental and marine, shows a weak development, particularly the marine branch (Orbi et al. 2011), which represents less than
0.1% of the national fishery production. Facing this situation, Morocco established,
in September 2009, a new development strategy for the maritime fishery sector,
known as “Halieutis Plan” (http://www.maroc.ma/fr/content/halieutis). This strategy
aimed to reinvigorate, in a sustainable manner, fisheries and aquaculture development and make them more competitive and more efficient. It provided a harmonious
development of means of fishery production, improving the living and working
conditions of fishermen, preserving natural resources and their exploitation sustainability, and encouraging marine aquaculture development. Therefore, marine aquaculture in Morocco started a new phase characterized by aiming at ensuring all
necessary development conditions. In this context, a new institution called “National
Agency for the Development of Aquaculture (ANDA)” was created and dedicated to
marine aquaculture development promotion (https://www.anda.gov.ma/fr/connaitrel-anda).
Since the implementation of this new strategy (Halieutis Plan), various studies
have been launched in different maritime regions of Morocco to identify and select
potential sites for aquaculture and to elaborate aquaculture activity development
plans upon a participative approach and an integrated and harmonious procedure.
Two aquaculture development plans have been achieved covering all the Mediterranean coasts of Morocco (ANDA 2019a, b). Identified projects are in fact still in the
process of being implemented, and they will eventually allow the national marine
aquaculture production to know an important upward trend.
688
A. Ortega et al.