Brussels, 24/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Evidence gathered has allowed the European Commission to establish that, in 2010, Spain exceeded its mackerel quota by 19,621 tonnes, according to a European regulation published on Wednesday 23 February. This over-fish is almost equal to the total quota allocated to Spain (24,604 tonnes) that year.
The Commission will, then, make reductions in Spain's future quotas. However, as the deductions to be applied as a result of the overfishing in 2010 are greater than the mackerel quota allocated to Spain for 2011, “an immediate and full application of the deduction from the Spanish mackerel quota for 2011 would lead to a complete closure of this fishery in 2011”, the Commission notes. It acknowledges that closure would have serious socio-economic consequences for both the fishing sector and the processing industry. The Commission considers it appropriate to operate the deductions over a period of 5 years, from 2011 to 2015 (quota reductions of 4,500 tonnes, 5,500t, 9,748t, 9,747t and 9,747t respectively). If necessary, further deductions will be made after 2015. (L.C./transl.rt)