Morocco has redefined in March 2026 the architecture of the fishing sector in the Central Atlantic. Rabat has formalized the fragmentation of its fishing grounds through strict spatial zoning. The measure, articulated through two decrees from the Secretary of State for Fisheries, aims to safeguard the sustainability of its resources under the umbrella of the Halieutis Strategy, but its ripple effect reaches the Canary Islands, where the industry watches with suspicion the increase in sovereign control over historically shared waters. Additionally, Africa Intelligence reported this Thursday that Rabat has reached an agreement with the U.S. for a block of American companies that will be able to operate in Western Sahara once it imposes its autonomy plan on Polisario and Algeria. The geopolitical board of the Central Atlantic is moving again. Morocco has taken another step in its strategy regarding the waters near the Canary archipelago, reactivating a debate that has been dormant for years: the delimitation of the maritime border between Rabat and Spain in an area of immense strategic and energy value. The maneuver comes in a particularly delicate diplomatic context following the recent political clash between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and U.S. President Donald Trump over attacks on Iran. Although the conflict is part of a broader international agenda, its collateral effects have once again placed the Canary Islands at the center of Atlantic geopolitics. In recent years, Morocco has promoted several legislative and administrative initiatives aimed at consolidating its control over maritime spaces overlapping with Spain’s exclusive economic zones. The most sensitive point is found in the waters near the Canary archipelago and the territories of Western Sahara, a region whose sovereignty remains a subject of international dispute. The new regulations impose a geographical ‘stranglehold’ on trawlers and longline fleets. Starting from the 2026 season, coastal trawlers will be confined to one of five defined management units, with the obligation to unload exclusively at the ports designated for their area. For the longline fishing, Rabat has readjusted its three operational zones, linking the activity directly to the capacity of specific port infrastructures. It is, in essence, the end of roaming for the fleet operating off the shores of Western Sahara. The Canary factor: Competition and Supplies For the fishing sector in the Canary Islands, this movement is not merely an administrative issue of a neighboring country. The division into management units suggests a much more aggressive monitoring of catches in areas bordering the Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). By forcing fleets to unload at designated Moroccan ports, Rabat not only seeks ‘sustainable exploitation’ but also to consolidate its logistical hubs against the historical hegemony of the Port of La Luz in Las Palmas as a transshipment and repair center. Analysts in the islands warn that this ‘proximity management’ model could be the prelude to new demands for joint ventures and vessels with Canary capital operating in the region. The rigidity of the new licenses, which will specify the management unit in an immovable manner, reduces the operational flexibility of a fleet that until now has operated in a much looser framework. Rabat maintains that these decisions, made after consultations with industry professionals, are the ‘first phase’ of a gradual reorganization process. However, beneath the lexicon of marine conservation lies a clear intention for territorial management. By compartmentalizing the sea, Morocco officially states that it facilitates monitoring against overfishing, but it also sets a precedent for controlling the flow of fishery products to the European market, of which the Canary Islands are the main entry point. As the Moroccan Secretary of State prepares ‘complementary measures’ for the following stages, Canarian shipowners and regional authorities face an increasingly segmented board. Fishing in the Canary-Saharan Bank has ceased to be a matter of nets and fishing grounds to become an exercise in high-precision cartography and bureaucratic compliance under the watchful eye of Rabat.
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