Fisheries: Over MAD 30 million to improve catch traceability and monitoring of vessel activities

The Secretariat of State for Maritime Fisheries has launched an international open tender for the design, development and deployment of an integrated information management system for maritime fishing activities, structured into two lots.

Specifically, the first lot concerns the design, development and deployment of an information management application for maritime fishing activities, including the certification and traceability of fishing catches.

The second lot relates to the design, development and deployment of an application for the declaration and monitoring of fishing vessel activities (VMS/ERS). The cost of the services for the first and second lots is set at over MAD 16.2 million (all taxes included) and over MAD 13.9 million respectively, bringing the total to MAD 30.1 million.

According to the documents attached to the international tender, the successful bidder will be required to complete the services covered by the contract within an overall implementation period of 18 months for both lots mentioned above.

Beyond these key details, it is worth recalling that the national Halieutis strategy (2009) places the sustainability of marine resources and transparency in their governance at the heart of national priorities.

To respond to the growing threat of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to guarantee access to international markets, the contract pursues two inseparable objectives: the modernisation of the “Certification & Traceability” chain and the strengthening of remote monitoring of vessels.

The stakes of the first lot are particularly significant, as it involves managing a substantial volume of data, including nearly 700,000 catch declarations and 33,000 certificates per year. This also covers more than 2,600 coastal, offshore and RSW vessels, as well as 17,000 artisanal boats.

As for the second lot, the provider will be required, among other tasks, to implement real‑time satellite monitoring (VMS‑Position) and electronic transmission of fishing logbooks (ERS) in order to detect and prevent violations.

The provider must also supply inspectors with advanced tools (mapping, automated alerts and dashboards) capable of processing data from more than 100,000 users and ensuring continuous supervision.

In summary, the solution must include multiple modules, notably for catch certification, fisheries product traceability, fleet and fishers management, agreements and conventions, as well as the control and inspection of fishing activities and processing facilities.

It should be noted that the opening of bids related to this tender is scheduled for 22 June 2026.