2004 was characterised by low supplies of octopus, especially from Morocco, and sky-high prices. Octopus is becoming a premium priced product, with Japan offering top prices for large-sized octopus. No change is foreseen for 2005, with Morocco puttingeven more stringent resource management schemes into place. Morocco announced on 1 November 2004 the adoption of stringent measures to prevent the exhaustion of fisheries resources from over-fishing In the particular case of octopus, the reserves have shown a sharp decline over recent years, having dropped from 100 000 tonnes in 2001, to 18 000 tonnes in 2003 and 8 000 tonnes at the end of July 2004. In a bid to help restore the fishery, the Moroccan Government has established several biological ban periods. In 2003, a nine-consecutive-month moratorium on fishing was implemented, as a result of the critical situation of the resource. Fishermen criticize these systematically implemented measures of increasingly long biological bans, as they cause a sharp decline in production and revenues, with consequent socioeconomic conflicts. The minister is aware of these problems, but he believes that the sector must accept them, because of the serious condition of the octopus fisheries.
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