21/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 19 June, the European Commission adopted a regulation allowing the re-opening of sandeel fisheries in the North Sea and Skagerrak. A quota of 300,000 tonnes has been set for this species in 2006, 286,989t of which have been allocated to Denma rk and 6,186t to the United Kingdom. Last December, as a safety measure, the Council suspended this fishery while it waited for scientific advice. Experts estimated the number of juvenile sandeel joining the stock to be of the order of 324,000 million in 2005, a level high enough to allow a quota of 300,000 tonnes. In addition, the Commission will shortly make a decision on anchovy fisheries in the Bay of Biscay, which currently has a quota set at only 5,000t (Spain and France) while awaiting scientific advice.