فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
In Spain, fishermen’s associations are campaigning against fish imported from Morocco, accusing it of not complying with European standards.
A few weeks ago, the Spanish fishing sector launched a campaign against what some professional organizations call “unfair competition” from Maghreb countries, which they claim are “flooding national markets with products that do not meet the community regulations imposed by the European Green Deal.”
This thinly veiled attack particularly targets seafood products coming from Morocco.
“Species such as grouper and whiting are being marketed in illegal sizes. For example, grouper, which must measure at least 45 centimeters according to European regulations, is reaching markets with sizes barely reaching 20 or 25 centimeters. Whiting, which has a minimum allowed size of 20 centimeters, is being imported with sizes ranging from 10 to 13 centimeters. It is unacceptable that we are required to comply with these standards while products that do not meet them are allowed in,” recently complained Bartolomé Navarro, president of an association in the Murcia region.
Not only that, but Spanish fishermen are also attacking the quality of Moroccan fish, describing it as a “risk to public health.” In addition to media statements, there have also been calls to boycott Moroccan fish, as was the case last weekend in Seville.
On social media, the authors of these campaigns are unleashing harsh attacks on Moroccan products, using the fishermen’s arguments but this time without any restraint. “You should start taking responsibility and not buy imported products from Morocco that are of poor quality, and moreover, include pieces of illegal sizes,” reads one post.
This campaign is being echoed by local newspapers, which claim the “poor quality” of Moroccan fish and assert that Spaniards now support “national production.” These publications mainly discuss the harm that “the sale of these foods causes to Spanish producers,” who they say are of “better quality.”
The issue continues to escalate, with Luis Planas, Spain’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, meeting with autonomous communities in the Mediterranean to discuss issues such as revising European fishing quotas and updating studies on fishing zones. However, the main goal was to reassure them and ease tensions regarding Moroccan products.
This campaign led by Spanish fishermen against Moroccan fish raises questions about its true motives, especially in light of the restrictions facing the sector in Spain. While the Moroccan side seeks to defend the quality of its products, this issue remains an indicator of trade tensions that could affect relations between the two countries.
