16/12/2019 (Agence Europe) – The EU Council adopted without debate, on Monday 16 December, a Regulation setting the 2020 catch limits for certain fish stocks in the Mediterranean and Black Seas (see EUROPE 12388/18). This is the first time that a stand-alone fishing opportunities regulation for both the Mediterranean and the Black Seas has been adopted, following the entry into force in 2019 of the Multiannual Plan for demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea. The text provides for a 10% reduction in the maximum allowable fishing efforts, expressed in number of days, for vessels from Spain, France and Italy. There is also a closure period for European eel, as well as catch and effort limits for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea. (LC)