Mauritania is blessed with a strategic regional and international location. Having a 750km long littoral and a 34000Km2 continental shell, Mauritania sea waters represent one of the world richest territorial waters fisheries. Therefore, fishing is an essential sector for the economic development in the country.
Thereby Mauritania is a determinant competitor in the matter of fishing and sea-products implications.
For a better exploitation of these assets in order to enhance this sector for more competitiveness, Mauritanian authorities undertook a wide array of programs and plans on the basis of a consistent strategy that targets to develop economic and development policies that are complementary and integrated through a sounding identification of main axis and priorities to intervene according to the expectations of the set strategy.
All of these actions raised economic output and financial profitability to USD 1 billion in the year 2018. The sector generated 60,000 permanent jobs and thousands of non-permanent jobs..
The strategy also included the construction and extension of the existing infrastructure for the expansion of Nouadhibou Port, which was fully constructed. The ports of Tannit, north of Nouakchott, and Ndiago, in the extreme south, were in turn entirely built.
The strategy also included the extension of the autonomous port of Nouadhibou in 2014 with a quay length of 600 m for large vessels and 120 m of reinforced soil. In 2015, the wharf for coastal fishing vessels was added to four berths for boats.
As part of this strategy, the authorities took steps to mauritanize the sector; marathon negotiations were initiated with the European Union in the framework of the renewal of the fisheries agreement and which concluded with the acceptance by the European Union of most of the requests of the Mauritanian side.
In 2018, the dream of the construction of the fishing port of Tannit became reality. Located 60 km north of Nouakchott, administrative district of M'heijratt, it is considered the third largest port in the country after those of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou.
Along a coast stretching over 700 km and built to the most modern standards of ports and platforms, this port can accommodate ships and boats of different shapes and sizes.
With an area of 8500 square meters, it has a service barrier consisting of 396 meters and 12 meters wide and a buffer 380 meters long and 6 meters wide in addition to fixed anchors 100 meters in length and 6 meters wide.
For this, a plan for the training and capacity building aspect supported by scientific research and academic work has been put in place.
It is in this context that the Naval Academy was created. It is a high-level educational institution operating in accordance with international laws and regulations and whose diplomas are recognized internationally.
In the field of scientific research, the Mauritanian Institute for Oceanographic Research and Fisheries (IMROP) has played an important role.
Its contribution has been translated into the promotion of scientific research as a means of protecting and preserving fish wealth and as a mechanism for evaluating fisheries products in the country. The Institute is also responsible for identifying the fisheries and types of fish caught and the means used in the fishing process with a view to verifying their compliance with standards guaranteeing the protection and development of the environment.
In order to develop and improve quality, the National Office for Sanitary Inspection of Fishery Products (ONISPA) was created. It strives to improve the quality of marine products and to ensure their compliance with international quality standards in order to safeguard public health through the consumption of marine fisheries products and to ensure sustainable access to products. Mauritanian fishing to international markets adapting them to ISO 17020 and ISO 17025 standards. Thanks to the work of this office, the ban imposed on some companies in the past has been lifted and the number of companies approved by the European Union has increased from 50 to 140 companies. Certificates issued by ONISPA enjoy international recognition.
In order to secure, preserve and strengthen these efforts, the strategy provided for the establishment of a maritime control body, the Mauritanian Coast Guard, responsible for the civil functions of the State at sea, consisting of the control of the fishing, combating pollution, smuggling, and illegal immigration.
In addition to the radar stations located along the Mauritanian coast, this body is directly connected to a network of boats, led by four large vessels moving in deep water.
Important measures have been taken to promote Mauritania's fisheries sector in order to enhance its growth and ensure its constant input.
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