The Russian Embassy in Rabat announced on Thursday that the Russian research vessel, The Atlantrino, has begun a research mission in cooperation with Morocco’s National Institute for Fisheries Research.
The mission, part of Russia’s Great African Expedition of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, is being conducted in the fishing zone of the Atlantic Ocean off the Kingdom of Morocco, the embassy wrote on “X”.
🛳️ 20 октября Российское научно-исследовательское судно #Атлантниро в рамках Большой африканской экспедиции Росрыболовства начало исследовательскую миссию по оценке пополнения запасов мелких пелагических видов рыб в атлантической рыболовной зоне Марокко.#БАЭ #РоссияМарокко pic.twitter.com/UekRBBA11c
— Russie au Maroc🇷🇺🇲🇦 (@U_MAROC) October 23, 2024
The research is to assess the replenishment of small pelagic fish stocks in Morocco’s Atlantic fishing zone.
The mission came amid discussions between Morocco and Russia on a new fishing agreement that would allow Russian vessels to operate in Moroccan waters. Morocco recently extended the current fishing agreement with Russia signed in Rabat on September 14, 2020, and in Moscow on October 14 of the same year by three months. It is now scheduled to expire at the end of 2024.
The extension comes on the heels of a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice that annulled the fishing agreements between Morocco and the European Union (EU).