{"id":7951,"date":"2026-10-25T05:57:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T05:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/ar\/peche-maritime-mezouari-attentes-professionnels-2510\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T05:57:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T05:57:51","slug":"peche-maritime-mezouari-attentes-professionnels-2510","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/peche-maritime-mezouari-attentes-professionnels-2510\/","title":{"rendered":"Fisheries: fuel costs and sailors’ rights top demands for minister Mezouari"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahmad al-Mahdi al-Mazwari, the new Minister Delegate in charge of Maritime Fishing, takes office facing a list of demands from fishermen and boat owners, led by rising fuel prices<\/a>, the retirement age at sea and a maritime code dating back to 1919.<\/p>\n

The socialist politician joins the new government headed by the Authenticity and Modernity Party through Fatima al-Zahra al-Mansouri, coordinator of its collective leadership. Professionals in the sector say they are counting on public policies that rebalance value chains while protecting both marine resources and the livelihoods of sailors and investors.<\/p>\n

Fuel remains the daily lifeblood of crews and shipowners, a condition for keeping the fleet afloat. The sector is also contending with pressure on fish stocks and a number of other difficulties.<\/p>\n

Auction system and retirement age<\/h2>\n

Ahmad Arhbi, vice-president of the National Confederation of Maritime Fishing in Morocco, said the sector faces many problems, particularly in the Kingdom’s southern provinces, citing the “dalala” public auction system, which he said has directly harmed professionals and sailors. Before it was introduced, he argued, trading was more disciplined and transparent, with buyers paying reasonable prices that benefited everyone.<\/p>\n

He described the current retirement age for sailors as a major problem, out of step with the hard physical demands of work at sea, and called on the supervising ministry to lower it to 50, or 54 at most.<\/p>\n

Arhbi also urged the authorities to set a reference price of no less than 4 dirhams for sardines. Under the current sales system, he said, some buyers pay only 3 dirhams while others pay far more, with no regard for the fishermen’s effort or trip costs. He added that boat guards have no health cover or social protection and are left on their own if injured at work.<\/p>\n

“These vital issues will be at the top of the points and demands raised and discussed directly in the upcoming meetings with the new Minister Delegate in charge of Maritime Fishing.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A century-old maritime code<\/h2>\n

For Fouad Boudina, a member of the National League of Maritime Fishing, the priority is updating legislation by aligning the 1919 Maritime Commerce Code with the relevant recommendations and conventions of the International Labour Organization. The UN agency regularly asks Morocco about progress, he said, and official responses have so far consisted of justifications, most recently a request for legal training programmes.<\/p>\n

He noted that France, the source of the Moroccan code, has amended its own texts three times to protect sailors, while national legislation has stayed unchanged. Courts lack a unified framework and rely on differing interpretations, he said, and most disputes are handled by fisheries delegations that apply the old maritime code rather than the general Labour Code. As a result, sailors can be dismissed without compensation even after two decades aboard.<\/p>\n

Call to cap fuel prices<\/h2>\n

Boudina also pointed to the lack of any compensation for crews who lose their jobs in emergencies, citing the recent sinking of a sardine boat whose crew received neither protection nor compensation because of the heavy financial loss suffered by the shipowner.<\/p>\n

High fuel costs, he said, are draining the income of shipowners and sailors alike, especially the trawler fleet. He called for a return to a cap on fuel prices to shield professionals from price swings and keep their activity sustainable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fuel prices, retirement age and a 1919 maritime code top the demands that fisheries professionals plan to put to delegate minister Ahmad al-Mahdi al-Mazwari.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[5842,5844,5642,5843],"class_list":["post-7951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economie","tag-ahmed-mehdi-mezouari","tag-parti-authenticite-modernite","tag-fatima-zahra-mansouri","tag-international-labour-organization"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t