02/09/2020 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 2 September, the European Commission published a regulation in the EU Official Journal that permits Spain to reduce quota deductions for overfishing mackerel. In 2013, the Commission provided for deductions from certain fisheries quotas allocated to Spain for 2013 and subsequent years as a result of the overfishing of a mackerel quota in 2009. The deductions for the years 2020 and 2023 have been set at 5,544 tonnes and 1,392 tonnes respectively. In 2019, Spain did not fish all 3,341 tonnes of the corresponding mackerel quota, thereby exerting a fishing pressure on that stock that was below the maximum quantity allowed under the fisheries options allocated for that year. Spain has requested and obtained confirmation that these unfished quantities shall be taken into account when reducing the deductions that are set out. (LC)