The Official Journal of the European Union has extended an exception that allows Italy to market a 22-millimeter clam, despite a prohibition below 25 millimeters in Andalusia and other EU communities. José Manuel Martínez Malia, the general director of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development in Spain, has criticized this extension as unfair competition and has vowed to increase controls on Italian clams entering Andalusia. He also expressed disappointment that the Spanish government is not negotiating against this measure and highlighted the plight of the Andalusian chirla sector, which faces unfair competition from the cheaper Italian clam.