Recent Trends in The Libyan Fish Resources Compared to The Countries of The Maghreb

Abstract

Fish resources are the most important source of animal protein and its rational exploitation is a strategic goal in achieving food security in many countries.  This study compared the current situation of fish production, both marine fisheries and aquaculture in Libya with the rest of the Maghreb countries during the period from 2005 to 2015. The study targeted four countries in addition to Libya, namely Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania, where the production of these countries together represented 51.6% of the total fish production in the Arab world for the year 2015. The marine fisheries sector is the main contributor to fish production in Libya. It was noted in this study that fish production from capture fisheries in Libya increased from 27 thousand tons at the end of 2005 to 47 thousand tons by the end of 2010, then took a sharp descending trend to decrease to 3.5 thousand tons by the end of 2015, with a contribution that did not exceed 0.17% of the total fish production in the Maghreb. This sharp decline is mainly related to the mismanagement of the fishing sector, unlike the rest of the Maghreb countries, which kept increasing its captured fish production during the same study period to reach 644.33, 137.00, 117.46 and 100.12 thousand tons in Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, respectively. From 2005 to 2010, the levels of growth of fish production from aquaculture varied in all countries of the Maghreb except Mauritania. Between 2010 to 2015, Libyan aquaculture production clearly decreased from 0.35 thousand tons per year to levels that may be negligible, mainly due to the lack of specialized competencies to manage this sector as required. Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria are all facing a deficit in local production for consumption needed was estimated at -571, -570, and -29 respectively. This deficit in local production in these countries was covered by increasing the volume of imports. While Morocco and Mauritania have achieved a surplus of domestic fish production, which was estimated at 565.03 and 527.37 thousand tons in 2015. This led to a surplus of their production in exports.