Changes in Morocco. Insights from field research in Sidi Bounouar.

1st July, 2024

Beatrice Ferlaino

From April 15th to 31st, Ginevra and I, Beatrice went to Morocco. We started our trip in Sidi Bounouar in the Souss Massa region, where we met with the Slow Fish Community of Aglou. We stayed together until April 25th. These ten days were intense, filled with interviews, and spent conducting participant observation with the people of the douar (village in Moroccan Arabic, Darija).

The region of Sidi Bounouar is well-known for the practice of “foot fishing”, the harvesting of mussels and other seafood. Once collected, the mussels are sun-dried in order to consume them when needed, cooked in a tajine with spices, onion, and – if possible – other vegetables.

This first period of field research has been very important for understanding the context in which the Aglou community lives and to delve into their relationship with the sea. Three main themes stood out from these days in Sidi Bounouar. Each of them deserves a larger investigation, and in-depth follow-up posts will follow in the next months. In the meantime, I’d like to provide an overview of them all, to create a general representation of the context we will be studying over the next few months.

Changes in the sea and the land

Since the 1980s, climate change and intensive fishing have caused some big changes in the region. Many fish species have been relocated, areas that once were fertile and provided vegetables are now arid, and it's getting harder to get a good day's fishing. The practices of fishing and how people can access food, the areas involved in these activities, and the fish species themselves have all changed. Vegetables, fruits, and meat are increasingly expensive and, for many people, the sea is the main provider of nourishment. The state is building seawater desalination plants all along the coast to provide access to fresh water, which isn't currently guaranteed due to significant droughts. As a consequence of these changes, foot fishing practices are re-signified and are part of a renovation in the definition of this local food community.

The bureaucratization of artisanal fishing

Artisanal fishing, the local economy’s nerve center, is impacted by profound transformations. The state is modifying the infrastructural landscape, removing old fishermen’s houses built along the coast, and formalizing both the market and the participation in the fishing economy. Since 2008, several artisanal fish markets have been rebuilt and the government is involved in negotiating the fish prices in a daily auction created in these new structures. Fishermen can access the sea only by passing through the offices of national authorities, disseminated along the entire coast; boats and fishers have identification numbers, and the decision of who can access the sea and how to do it is assigned to public functionaries. This process illustrates the will of the state to incorporate the artisanal fishing economy into formal government processes. In this frame, the Sidi Bounouar community finds different ways to access marine economies.

The sea as a tool for self-narration

The Moroccan coast is being transformed to make it more attractive to international tourists. In the extremely arid region of Agadir (and specifically in the area of Sidi Bounouar), water parks, large resorts, and tourist villages are being built. To integrate into this process without losing control, the Sidi Bounouar community has built three sea museums. These are rooms within private homes filled with objects that tell the maritime life of the people and the communities. These small rooms facilitate an insight into the historical practices of fishing, provide an opportunity to encounter species that are currently endangered, and elucidate the multifaceted relationships that humans have with the sea. These museums show the sea as a powerful and dangerous force, yet also a rich and fascinating one. It's a force of nature that affects the lives of artisanal fishermen in ways that are often unpredictable.

The research in Sidi Bounouar has allowed us to begin outlining a complex picture of local dynamics related to the food system, its transformations, and environmental and social changes. If you are interested in learning more about it, please follow us in the research journey!