The Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Islamic Affairs and Moroccans Living Abroad approved, Thursday, the new maritime fisheries agreement between Morocco and the Russian Federation, four months after it was passed by the government council. The text renews the agreement signed in 2016 between Rabat and Moscow and which expired in March 2020. Sources within the parliament told Alyaoum 24 that this agreement includes the principles of cooperation, exploitation and preservation of fishery resources in the exclusive economic zone of Morocco, as well as the fishing conditions of vessels flying the Russian flag in the Atlantic coast. The new agreement, which will run for four years is the eighth of its kind since 1992, also provides for the establishment of the legal framework, which allows a fleet of ten Russian vessels to catch small surface fish in the Moroccan waters. The same sources recall that Morocco considers that the activity of Russian vessels in Moroccan waters offers employment opportunities to Moroccan fishermen at the rate of 16 sailors per vessel at all times. They also announce that a joint committee will meet before the start of fishing activities to determine the quota that will be granted to Russian vessels for the first year of the agreement.
