Why the Maghreb matters to the world’s oceans


North-West African states have a growing role to play in ocean governance—and global frameworks should reflect it.

As diplomats and scientists gather in Nice for the UN Conference on the Oceans, attention is predictably focused on major maritime powers and low-lying island states. Yet along the North-West African coast lies a bloc of overlooked potential and growing strategic weight: the Maghreb. From Tunisia’s eroding shores to Mauritania’s nutrient-rich Atlantic shelf, this region is both highly exposed to marine threats and crucial to global ocean stewardship.

The Maghreb countries—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania—control extensive maritime zones spanning two vital basins: the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. These waters are ecological crossroads, critical to migratory routes and increasingly important for blue carbon storage through coastal ecosystems such as seagrass meadows and mangroves. As climate change disrupts established marine boundaries and heightens competition for resources, these zones will become ever more geopolitically and ecologically pivotal.

Some national efforts are worth noting. Morocco has expanded its marine protected areas and is exploring offshore wind projects. Tunisia is piloting coastal resilience initiatives and improving pollution monitoring. Algeria is collaborating with FAO frameworks to modernize fisheries management. Mauritania, meanwhile, sits astride one of the world’s richest upwelling systems—the Canary Current—and has begun reforming its fisheries licensing while trialing small-scale aquaculture. Libya, though hampered by political fragmentation and weak institutions, commands one of Africa’s longest coastlines and remains central to any credible regional maritime strategy.

Yet these actions remain patchy, underfunded, and hampered by weak regional coordination. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing continues across all five countries. Coastal erosion, pollution, and poor enforcement threaten biodiversity and economic development alike. Without credible maritime governance in the Maghreb, the Mediterranean’s southern rim remains a regulatory blind spot—undermining both African Union and European Union efforts to forge a coherent blue economy.

International actors must go beyond applauding pilot projects. They must help institutionalize coordination, invest in enforcement capacity, and support regional data-sharing and surveillance. The African Union’s 2050 Integrated Maritime Strategy and the EU’s blue economy ambitions both hinge on a functional Maghreb maritime front.

If the ocean conference in Nice is to deliver more than declarations, it must integrate the Maghreb not just in words, but in the structure of ocean governance itself. That means targeted capacity-building, a genuine role in enforcement planning, and influence over regional monitoring systems. These countries must no longer be treated as marginal players. For ocean governance to be truly global, the Maghreb cannot remain a missing piece of the map.

*Lonzo Cook is a journalist and writer. He spent two decades at CNN in a series of senior editorial and management roles including leading breaking news operations across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. He currently works as a senior communications strategist, partnering with corporations and executives to develop integrated communication strategies to connect with audiences in our fast paced, ever changing engagement landscape.