Moroccan Fish Market

On the last day in Casablanca, I left the port in the morning with my friend Amy and Jeffrey, the interport student. As we left the gate, we ran into Dr. Young who told us about the fish market just down the road. We noticed a great deal of seagulls and cats swarming the area, signifying that we found the correct place; the over-powering odor also told us that we were in the right place. As we walked through the gates of the fish market, the policeman there informed us, several times, that we were not allowed to take any pictures; therefore, I do not have any pictures for this section.

So, once we were stopped by the police, we walked towards the commotion that was occurring. This market was unlike any other fish market prior to this port. The other markets that I have seen have been full or shops, stalls, or little carts that hold the fish in ice behind a Plexiglas case. This market, was much different. We walked along the vendors and noticed that the fish were being thrown from the boats onto the dock. From there, the fish were dispersed to the other vendors. The fish were then dispersed in several different ways to display them: on tiny wooden stands, on a cloth on the floor, or in carts which were then brought to town. It was amazing to observe the chaos that was the Moroccan fish market.

Once we noticed how the fish were brought there and separated, we walked through the different vendors. I completely regret wearing sandals that day, because the entire floor was covered in fish guts. In addition, there were unwanted fish and sea life parts scattered everywhere on the road, including heads and guts. The fish that I noticed were tuna, salmon, a very large tilapia, a ray, sharks, large shrimp, eels, squid, octopi, and cuttlefish. The barracudas were the fish that were being transported via cart to town. They were the only fish that had ice on top of them. The only other port that I noticed had barracuda was Portugal; it was not in the Baltic Sea countries fish markets. In addition, the shrimp that the Casablanca market had were larger than any shrimp that I have ever seen! Also, the sharks were very large! Up until now, I have not seen shark at any other market quite like this.

This market was a real treat to go to because it strongly differed from the other markets we have seen thus far, in both variety and arrangement.