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The coastal fisheries represent an important activity of the North-Atlantic marine sector, the coastal fleet constitutes a significant part of the total catch and provides employment for a large number of fishermen (Freire and Garcıa-Allut, 2000). Many of the world's coastal fisheries face the problem of fisheries breakdown, search for income, and the difficulty of sustaining their livelihoods in the fishing profession (Salas et al., 2007).
In the last two decades, the worldwide attention has placed great focus on the fisheries socioeconomic studies (Witherell et la., 2000; Baticados, 2004). Socioeconomic data, as well as the research method and approach used, are important imperatives for determining fisheries management policies (Cunningham, 1981; Prochaska and Cato, 1983; Meany, 1987; Jayamaran et al., 1992; Pomeroy, 1992). There is clearly a need to develop more comprehensive fisheries management policies depend on socioeconomic data (Neiland, 1992). Such studies offer the basic reference for the necessary management measures that have led to improved the overall efficiency at which an increased interest in socioeconomic date has emerged (C.O.M., 2002).
An understanding of the causes influencing high participation in fishing is a vital ingredient to reducing depletion of the fisheries resources and consequently the threats to the livelihoods of fishermen involved in the fisheries sector (Acquah and Abunyuwah, 2011).
Measures of interrelated and diverse aspects concerning the combination of social and economic factors were referred to by the socioeconomic status term. In general, these aspects can be categorized into several classes that include social, economic, demographic, educated, public services, occupation and income (Wooten and Rau, 1980). The lack of knowledge in the socioeconomic conditions of fishermen and fishing communities leads to poor planning and application of different fisheries management (Devi et al., 2012; Nongmaithem et la., 2014).
Kalikoski and Vasconcellos (2012) argue that there is always a lack of basic information on the technical, socioeconomic and environment or environmental conditions on fishing communities and fishermen, including number, fishing capacity, technologies and livelihood.
Even-though coastal fleets have become increasingly important as contributors to economic and social development, efforts by FAO, other stakeholders and the international community have yet to agree upon a common definition for coastal vessels. As a result, a number of varied definitions have become present in between countries and even within some country. Each definition has its own criteria to take in or into consideration in order to define a coastal vessel. However, most of them consider fishing ground, size, fishing gear, and length of trip to be the most common factors (Viðarsson et al., 2015).
There are two types of large-scale fisheries; coastal and deep seas initiated by Portuguese and Spanish fisheries. For them coastal fishery is the type of fishing activity conducted by manufactured 16-24 m wooden boats without catch preservation systems. Such activity uses purse seine to target pelagic species and uses longliners to target demersal species in addition to driftnets and bottom trawls (Franquesa, 2001; Baddyr and Guénette, 2001; Edwin, 2002; Tudela et al., 2005; FAO, 2011).
In Morocco, the coastal fishing vessels make short trips not exceeding 24 hours with purse seine. In trawlers trips, the duration of the trip does not exceed one week and exploits benthic fish. On the other hand, the longline vessels target the large bottom and pelagic species with high market value. In general, the boats are made of wood, with up to 40 fishermen as in the case of purse seiners (MENFP, 2015).
Since the early 1930s, fishing has featured as one of the major activities in the Moroccan economy (Pitcher and Rojo-Diaz, 2005). Fisheries constitute 15% of the total Moroccan exports and contribute to the livelihood of about a half-million of people, living in a poor rural zone (Anon, 2005).