Occurrence of parasites in fishery species along the Moroccan coastline

The fishing industry in Morocco is a fundamental pillar of the national economy. However, it is important to acknowledge that fishery products can potentially transmit parasitic agents to humans. These parasites primarily belong to the Anisakidae family, consisting of two main genera: Anisakis and Pseudoterranova. The main objective of this study is to assess the occurrence of parasitism in fishery species along the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea coasts in Morocco. A total of 1808 specimens from 24 species were collected and examined for parasites between August 2022 and May 2023. The results show that 279 samples were infested, giving an overall prevalence of 15.43%, which is very low; 3918 parasites were detected in 14 of the 24 species examined, giving an overall abundance of 2.17 and an intensity of 14.04. Gymnorhynchus gigas were exclusively found in the Atlantic Pomfret (Brama brama), exhibiting a high prevalence of 78.26%. In contrast, xenomas were observed in Axillary seabream (Pagellus acarne) (p=16.19%) and Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) (p=1.01%). The parasites belonging to the Anisakidae family are the most widespread, with a percentage of 68.70%, and the silver scabbardfish (Lepidopus caudatus) has the highest prevalence, which is 87.14%. The examination of the correlation between its weight and the number of larvae yielded a correlation coefficient of r=0.52, while the correlation between its length and larvae count resulted in r=0.41. Both cases demonstrated a positive correlation. These findings underscore the necessity of prioritizing the safety of fishery species to safeguard public health and ensure sustainable consumption practices.