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During the festive season, locally farmed oysters have become a staple at Christmas or New Year’s Eve dinners in Morocco, for both Moroccans and tourists alike. Enjoyed raw with a sprinkle of lemon, baked, grilled, gratinated, or in a tagine, these shellfish species are grown on Morocco’s Atlantic coast.
Two locations in the country proudly bear the specialty of oyster farming: Oualidia, a village on Morocco's Atlantic coast in the Casablanca-Settat region, and Dakhla, a narrow peninsula on the Atlantic Coast, south of Laayoune in southern Morocco.
While Dakhla boasts 80% of Morocco’s national oyster production, earning the title of «Africa’s Oyster Capital», according to the kingdom’s national tourism office (ONMT), Oualidia’s lagoon is considered a leading oyster production area, with seven oyster beds and an annual production of 37 tons.
Dakhla's oysters, a year-round phenomenon
But tastes can’t be debated. For those who prefer Dakhla’s oysters, the city’s bay is generous in terms of production. Ahmed Guida, entrepreneur and a member of the chamber of fisheries, is one of the first shellfish farmers in the city. Speaking to Yabiladi, he explains how demand for local oysters has recently grown significantly, especially during the festive New Year season.
«Demand for Dakhla oysters has become a year-round phenomenon, especially in the last couple of years, 2023 and 2024. Indeed, producers and restaurateurs prepare for the festive season, namely New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve, but demand for oysters remains constant throughout the year», he proudly remarked.
An oyster farm in Dakhla. / Ph. DR
Guida, who owns three shellfish farms in Dakhla, recalls how, in recent years, production has also grown in the region. «Before, there were few companies managing the demand for oysters, and they used to be overwhelmed», he explained. Now, however, he states, «With the growing number of companies and oyster farms, the increasing demand is manageable».
As the owner of Talha Mar, a restaurant where he serves his harvest, Guida has been one of the first people to produce oysters and sell them in the region. He started his first oyster farm in 2007, but back then, he struggled to sell his harvest.
«At first, I couldn’t find buyers for my products, so I started selling them myself—cooking oysters, selling them grilled or in tagines, and introducing them to people», he recalls. As his business grew, more people came to eat oysters, and it has continued since then, he explained.
With a dream of exporting his harvest to other regions of the country, Guida said that he produces a yearly average of 120 tons of oysters and directly employs 35 people between his farms and restaurant.
«In addition, I create other indirect jobs, mostly in the restaurant sector, such as employing women who work from home. They are tasked with peeling garlic, making sauces, and grinding herbs», he said.
Sterile oysters for better production
What makes Dakhla a generous farming spot for oysters in Morocco ? According to ONMT, Dakhla Bay is «particularly well-suited to their development». The «saltwater with the rich presence of phytoplankton on which oysters feed» helps these sea creatures thrive.
«In Dakhla, unlike other parts of the country, oysters can be consumed all year long. This is because we farm a species called triploid oysters», Guida specified. These varieties of oysters, which have three sets of chromosomes and are sterile, grow and fatten easily.
«These triploid oysters are sterile because when oysters lay eggs, milk—the term 'milk' does not refer to actual milk produced by mammals but is used colloquially to describe the milky substance released by oysters during spawning—starts leaking and ruins the production, making the oysters unsuitable for consumption», he elaborated.
There are some exceptions, though. Production could be halted due to monitoring by authorities, such as the National Office for Sanitary Safety of Food Products (ONSSA). «This happens when it’s raining, as microbes driven by the rain could harm the oysters», the Dakhla oyster farmer said.
«And sometimes, when it is not windy and very sunny, plankton—organisms carried by tides and currents that cannot swim well enough to move against these forces—can get stuck and start reproducing, which can exceed the dosage in the water for the oysters and be harmful. This phenomenon, referred to as marée rouge», he added.
When compared to their competitors in Oualidia, Dakhla oysters are helped by the sun. «Our region is sunnier, so the oysters grow bigger and thrive», Guida said. Unlike Oualidia, where it takes longer for oysters to grow—sometimes up to one year and nine months—in Dakhla, these shelled creatures grow and reach market or harvest size in nine months.
Drying is also an important step in producing oysters, according to Guida, which can make a difference in taste. «Farmers dry oysters under the sun very well, which help thicken the cock and the muscles of these oysters, making them tastier and sweeter», he noted.
Cold waters for tastier oysters
But in Oualidia, it is rather the cold weather that helps its oysters thrive. «In Oualidia, the waters are cold, which enhances the quality and benefits of cultivation», Hicham Rehhab, from the restaurant of Hôtel L'Hippocampe in Oualidia, and a connoisseur of the shellfish, told Yabiladi.
«Baby oysters, which start off the size of a lentil, are first raised in Dakhla. Once they grow a bit and are no longer as fragile, they are brought to Oualidia», Rehhab noted. «We can even go as to say that oyster cultivation is divided between Dakhla and Oualidia», he added.
Oualidia remains Morocco’s northern hub for oyster lovers. Most people visiting the village come to savor local seafood, especially oysters. For Christmas dinner or Saint Sylvester’s dinner, these specialties are ordered and loved. «In our restaurant, people prefer to order raw oysters, but occasionally clients want them gratinated», Rehhab remarked.
Currently, Rehhab’s restaurant offers six gratinated oysters for 120 dirhams, while six raw ones are sold for 100 dirhams. Regardless of the festive season, Oualidia’s visitors are always up for oysters. «On weekends, we see a lot of people coming to spend the day in Oualidia, especially now that we have the Casa-El Jadida highway and the Casa-Safi highway», Rehhab concluded.
For oyster lovers, bear in mind that Oualidia has an exclusive festival for these sea creatures. If you’re planning to visit Oualidia in summer, take note that an Oyster Festival is held every year in July or August. In addition to promoting aquaculture and oyster farming, this annual festival also includes evening events featuring folk dancing and singing, wrote ONMT.
If you are heading south, in Dakhla, you can visit the oyster farms where they’re produced. There, you can enjoy freshly harvested oysters right in the park, with your feet in the water.
