Coastal fishermen in Morocco Thursday started an indefinite strike in all ports in the country, protesting the rise in the price of gasoil which, according to them, is threatening fishing, the second Moroccan national TV channel “2M”, declared. The fishermen, numbering more than 500,000, had gone on a warning strike which lasted more than 20 days before resuming work after negotiations with the agriculture and maritime fishing ministry officials. According to the local press, the striking fishermen accuse government officials of not fulfilling their promises and refusing to re-open dialogue. Shipowners, who say that the price of gasoil reached levels that are clearly beyond their means, are pressing for fuel subsidies, the exemption of the tax paid to the national fisheries board and the discarding of go-betweens, responsible for the increase in the retail price of fish. At the beginning of the year, the Moroccan authorities had announced measures aimed at streamlining the fishing sector.
