Madar (Nouakchott) - A technical training course on Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards for sustainable fishing opened on Monday, November 9, 2026, in Nouakchott, organised by the Mauritanian Fish Marketing Company (SMCP) in cooperation with the MSC, according to the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI).
MSC representative Amanda LeFevre said in a recorded message that octopus accounts for only 10.8% of the volume of Mauritania's fish exports but more than 53% of their total value, and is a source of livelihood for thousands of coastal families.
She warned against overfishing and unsustainable practices, saying illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major threat, with its share estimated at about 18% of the total catch volume in the region.
SMCP's management control director, Mohamed El Mamy Ahmed Zarrouk Bouhoubeini, said the company had allocated a "significant budget" to fund the activities of the octopus Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), without giving a figure, adding that the project has moved into actual implementation.
He said seeking MSC certification and meeting Chain of Custody (CoC) requirements "is not merely a commercial goal" but a strategic choice to strengthen the credibility and competitiveness of Mauritanian products.
The coordinator of SMCP's octopus fishery improvement project, Benbel Ahmed Benbel, said 700 fishing units have so far joined the process of meeting the MSC standards.
The course runs for five days, with international and national experts presenting how the standards are applied, in the presence of officials from the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime and Port Infrastructure.
