A Norwegian research vessel recently made a stopover in Agadir as part of a scientific campaign conducted in six North-West African countries bordering the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

The stopover of the R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen was an opportunity for a meeting on board with officials from the National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH) to present the preliminary results of the campaign, in which a Moroccan scientific team took part, the INRH indicated in a statement received on Wednesday by MAP.

In addition to the Norwegian scientists, this oceanographic campaign, which took place from 20 October to 18 December, saw the participation of no fewer than 32 scientists from research institutions in the 8 countries of the Canary Current region (Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, The Gambia, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Morocco, Spain/Canary Islands), collaborating on the "Protection of the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem" (CCLME) project. This regional project is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It aims to set up tools to combat the degradation of the Canary Current large marine ecosystem due to overfishing, habitat modification, and changes in water quality, using a concerted cross-border approach that adopts the ecosystem approach to fisheries, the same source adds.