Environmental pollution of fish with organic contaminants is a topic of rising attention in Morocco. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are prominent organic contaminants which are rapidly metabolized in fish. Their metabolites are accumulated in the bile fluid and can be used to assess PAH exposure. The two PAH metabolites 1-hydroxypyrene and 1-hydroxyphenanthrene were quantified in European eels (Anguilla anguilla) from two Moroccan river systems by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Mean values ranged from 52 to 210 ng/mL 1-hydroxypyrene and from 61 to 73 ng/mL 1-hydroxyphenanthrene. The overall concentrations of PAH metabolites in eel from Morocco appeared moderate compared to eel from European rivers and coastal sites. The present study provides first information on concentrations of PAH metabolites in fish from Morocco.

This article reviews the development potential of Aquaponics in Morocco, an emergent approach which integrates aquaculture with Hydroponics, whereby aquaculture effluent is used to fertilise plants in the hydroponic system. Aquaponics is the subject of an alternative solution to earth modern problems, linked to climate change, such as drought, soil degradation, food and water availabilities, negative impact of aquaculture on the environment, the use of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. This food production system has gained interest in the past five years, however, there is yet to be successful experiences or scientific publications in Morocco, although the economy of this country is based on two main sectors: agriculture and fisheries. The current paper was developed using a systematic, strategic and comprehensive literature review on peer reviewed publications on several themes, including aquaponics, aquaculture, hydroponics and horticulture, from 1960 to 2020. Over 59publications were reviewed and analysed. The review found that aquaponics has gained interest in the past five years, over 500 scientific articles have been published, since 2015, with the term “Aquaponics” as title, abstract or keyword, highlighting its many advantages and major drawbacks, but unfortunately none of these publications were of Moroccan origin, which consolidates the need for a review which will scale up the importance of this technique and its development potential in Morocco.

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The European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a small pelagic fish found in the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Anchovy (E. encrasicolus) are among the important finfishes harvested in Moroccan coasts. The stock structure of European anchovy in NW Africa is not truly known (FAO, 2013). To effectively manage the anchovy fisheries, it is important to understand the anchovy stock structure. Therefore, discriminant function analysis (DFA) based on morphometric characters was conducted on a total of 204 adult anchovy specimens, seasonally collected by commercial fishing vessels from the region of Mehdia in the North Atlantic area and from the region of M’diq in the Mediterranean coast during the year 2019. Body shape variation, which is often environmentally induced, may provide a good record population structuring. Our data were subjected to univariate statistics of variance (ANOVA) by using SPSS 20 software version. The morphometric characteristics show a separation of two stocks of Engraulis encrasicolus between the two localities. These findings will have major implications for anchovy fisheries management in Morocco.

Background In Morocco, fish is an important protein source especially, even not exclusively, for coastal communities and marketed fresh all along the coastline. One of the main targets of coastal artisanal fisheries is the European conger (Conger conger, Linnaeus 1758), a widely distributed benthic predatory species of a maximum weight of up to 50 kg. However, information on heavy metal contamination of conger is scarce. Therefore, concentrations of mercury, lead and cadmium were analysed in 108 European conger specimens from nine locations along the along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Morocco to describe the spatial distribution of heavy metal contamination. Results The average heavy metal concentration in all conger samples under investigation was 246.90 ± 216.83 µg mercury/kg wet mass, 74.14 ± 87.02 µg lead/kg wet mass and 255.12 ± 287.15 µg cadmium/kg wet mass respectively. Mercury and cadmium showed a clear site-specific bioaccumulation in European conger but lead does not. Hence, the effect of fish length bias on contamination was corrected through a generalized linear model (GLM) prior to any spatial comparison. Conclusions Different regional hotspots for the three analysed metals are identified and local sources are discussed. Mercury levels in big specimens of European conger exceeded the European threshold level for human consumption at some of the locations under investigation.