Monday, September 23, 2024 at 11:26
El Jadida – The harvesting of seaweed in El Jadida, which continues until September 30 in El Jadida, undoubtedly represents an important income-generating activity for local populations.
This seasonal activity is practiced by no less than 3,200 divers and 1,800 other collectors of seaweed gathered from the seabed, mobilizing around 850 boats on coasts extending over 150 kilometers which shelter four landing zones namely El Jadida, Jorf Lasfar, Lahdida and Sidi Abed.
The harvest quota set this year by the Provincial Delegation of the National Fisheries Office in El Jadida is 19,100 tonnes.
In a statement to MAP, the Provincial Delegate of the maritime district of El Jadida, Abdelouahed Rouagbi assures that the seaweed harvesting season is taking place in ideal climatic conditions, stressing that all necessary measures have been taken to support and raise awareness among seaweed harvesters.
While indicating that each boat harvests about two tons per day, he noted that the local authorities in coordination with all stakeholders, ensure compliance with safety measures in terms of harvesting algae, the stocks of which place El Jadida in 1st place and 8th in the world.
For his part, the president of the El Mouilha cooperative for fishing and harvesting seaweed, Noureddine Chebi revealed to MAP that this season is exceptional, due to the weather conditions which slightly delayed the campaign.
Regarding the selling price of seaweed, he said that it depends on the quality, varying between 2.50 and 4 dirhams for wet seaweed against 7 dirhams for dry seaweed, adding that this harvest season which lasts 15 days offers a significant number of jobs.
He also indicated that the cooperative supervises the operation of storing and purchasing algae from boat owners and collectors, adding that 20% of the quantities harvested are used by the cooperative while the remaining 80% are intended for export and processing.
In another statement to MAP, Hanane Rafik, a seaweed collector on the beach, said that the working day begins at 6:00 a.m. and ends around 1:00 p.m., with the program including the collection of seaweed and the elimination of impurities for better quality, for a salary that varies between 100 and 300 dirhams per day.
It should be noted that the harvest quota set the previous year was 18,414 tons for more than 800 boats operating in the ports of Jorf Lasfar and El Jadida as well as the landing areas of Lahdida and Sidi Abed. The quota for each boat with a fishing license is set at 22 tons during the seaweed harvesting campaign, which, in addition to being beneficial to marine fauna, are particularly important for the environment since they produce 50 to 70% of oxygen, in addition to their various uses, particularly in the fields of gastronomy and cosmetics or even medical for their many antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant and anti-tumor properties.
