The National Federation of Coastal Fishing Professional Organisations in Morocco (FNPPAM) recently organised a meeting in Agadir to list the dysfunctions that disrupt their activity and hinder the development of this sector. Participants in the conference denounced measures described as "severe, even abusive" taken by the authorities against certain sardine boats operating in Dakhla for not using selective fishing and for using round nets. The owners of these sardine boats are accused of abuse and overexploitation of the fishery resources that this area abounds with, notably the meagre, one of the migratory species whose capture should be permitted, but which is, however, prohibited by a decision of the supervisory ministry which, according to the professionals, robs Peter to pay Paul: only longliners operating at the port of Dakhla benefit from this right.

The professionals recalled that they have repeatedly requested the supervisory ministry to include this species in the list of additional species and to determine quotas, so as to establish a fair fishing method favouring the development of all sectors: artisanal, coastal, or deep-sea. The participants also emphasised the consequences inherent in the implementation of the Halieutis strategy. "The Federation has always highlighted the dysfunctions from which this sector suffers and which hinder the implementation of this ambitious strategy," it was stressed, pointing the finger at "the absence of any constructive approach, the lack of dialogue and synergy between the sector's professionals and state mechanisms, the lack of equipment, the rigidity of the laws governing the sector, and the extravagance of the tax regime."