Mauritania Bans Most Fish Exports In Attempt To Boost Local Supplies - Reuters

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NOUAKCHOTT - Mauritania banned most fish exports this week to try to meet domestic needs, angering local fisherman and those workers laid off by fish factories. Mauritania, an arid country at the western end of the Sahara which boasts rich fisheries off its Atlantic coast, was among the countries worst hit by a surge in food prices earlier this year as it depends heavily on imports of staple foods like rice.

"This ban is intended to redirect output to prioritise the needs of Mauritanians, who have a right to eat their own fish," Fisheries Minister Hassena Ould Ely told Reuters after the ban took effect.

But the export ban on three popular fish, imposed from Monday by the fisheries minister installed after an August military coup, flies in the face of advice from some economists that curbs on exports risk disrupting vital food industries.

The ban covers sea bream and two species of grouper known locally as thiof and merou, which together account for around 80 percent of fish exported from Mauritania by local operators.

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