Cypriot fishers urge the adoption of a national strategy to secure the future of small-scale fishing
Press Release Date: August 28, 2026
Location: Nicosia
Contact:
Vicky Baniokou | email: vbaniokou@oceana.org | tel.: +34 636065977
Small-scale fishers call for the implementation of EU fisheries rules and preferential access to marine resources, viable livelihoods and generational renewal
Cypriot small-scale fishers have called for action by national authorities to restore fish stocks, secure preferential access for low-impact fishing to marine resources and create viable economic opportunities for coastal fishing communities. At a meeting with the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, they urged Cyprus to develop and implement a National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries and to implement EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The meeting brought together representatives of Cypriot small-scale fishers, the Union of Small-Scale Coastal Fishers, Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre, AP Marine and Oceana.
The fishers’ priority actions include:
- preferential access for small-scale, low-impact fishers to coastal areas, traditional fishing grounds and fisheries resources;
- implementing the CFP’s fish stock recovery and sustainable management objectives so that there are more fish in the sea;
- strengthening monitoring, control and enforcement across commercial and recreational fishing, including action against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;
- improving market opportunities, access to funding and support structures so that small-scale fishing can provide stable livelihoods and attract a new generation; and
- ensuring fishers have a meaningful role in decisions that affect their profession and coastal fishing communities.
- Formal adoption and implementation of the National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries
Participants discussed how existing and future European policy and funding instruments, including the CFP, EU fisheries funding and the forthcoming Ocean Act, could support the implementation of a National Strategy aligned with broader European objectives.
Christodoulos Charalambous, President of the Union of Small-Scale Coastal Fishers, said: “Small-scale fishers experience these pressures every day at sea, but Cyprus still lacks a coherent, long-term plan for the future of our sector. We are asking for the formal adoption and implementation of a 10-year National Plan of Action that has been developed together with fishers and scientists. The National Plan of Action includes a clear vision, priorities and outcomes, specific actions, roles and responsibilities, an indicative budget and a timetable. Fishers are ready to contribute our knowledge and experience and work constructively with the authorities on solutions that can secure the future of our profession and our coastal communities.”
National action to deliver the CFP
The CFP already provides the framework for sustainable fisheries, healthy fish stocks and resilient coastal fishing communities. The fishers’ call is for Cyprus to implement these objectives consistently through a coordinated national plan, with clear priorities, accountability and access to EU support. They propose to develop and implement the plan in cooperation with the relevant Cypriot authorities.
The call comes as the European Commission’s recent evaluation of the European Union’s CFP highlighted that it provides the right framework, but that uneven implementation across the EU has slowed progress on fish stock recovery and contributed to economic pressures on the sector.
Javier López, Campaign Director for Sustainable Fisheries at Oceana in Europe, said: “The experience of Cypriot small-scale fishers shows the urgent need to implement and enforce the CFP so that it can deliver tangible results. A participatory National Strategy and Action Plan can help turn these commitments into coordinated action in Cyprus and secure a viable future for the sector. The forthcoming European Ocean Act also provides an opportunity to strengthen EU marine governance and support small-scale, low-impact fisheries, including through preferential access to coastal waters and measures to protect these areas from destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling.”
Cypriot small-scale fishers face a range of interconnected pressures, including declining fish stocks, invasive species and climate impacts, increasing competition for marine space and fisheries resources, insufficient monitoring and control of recreational fishing and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, rising operating costs, unstable incomes, difficulties accessing funding and limited participation in decision-making. The sector is also facing an ageing workforce and difficulties attracting a new generation of professional fishers.
The proposed Strategy and Action Plan would bring environmental sustainability, economic viability, fair access to marine space and fisheries resources, effective enforcement and participatory governance into one national framework. Fishers said they are ready to contribute their knowledge and experience to its development and implementation with the relevant Cypriot authorities.
The plan builds on the Joint Call to Action for the Future of Small-Scale Fisheries in Cyprus, developed by the Union of Small-Scale Coastal Fishers and Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre with partner organisations.
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Notes to editors
The Joint Call to Action for the Future of Small-Scale Fisheries in Cyprus was developed in partnership between the Union of Small-Scale Coastal Fishers and Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre. It calls for immediate and coordinated action to secure the future of small-scale fisheries in Cyprus and sets out recommendations.
The meeting follows Oceana’s briefing, EU Common Fisheries Policy in Practice: Lessons from Cypriot Fishers, which drew on the experiences of Cypriot fishers and highlighted the gap between the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy and its implementation and impact on the ground. The meeting brought together representatives of the Union of Small-Scale Coastal Fishers, Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre, AP Marine and Oceana.
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