Small-scale fishers and NGOs are calling on Cyprus to adopt policies that secure preferential access to the nation’s fisheries for low-impact fishing efforts and support its coastal fishing communities.
“Cyprus still lacks a coherent, long-term plan for the future of our sector,” Union of Small-Scale Coastal Fishers President Christodoulos Charalambous said in a release. “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 Union of Small-Scale Coast Fishers, Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre, AP Marine, and Oceana recently met with European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis – who is from Cyprus – to urge for the adoption of their National Plan of Action and implementation of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
“The National Plan of Action includes a clear vision, priorities and outcomes, specific actions, roles and responsibilities, an indicative budget and a timetable,” Charalambous said. “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.”
The groups’ priority action items include preferential access for small-scale fishers to traditional fishing grounds, implementation of the CFP’s fish stock recovery and sustainable management objectives, improved monitoring and enforcement, improved market opportunities for small-scale fishers, and a larger role for fishers in regulatory decision-making.
“The experience of Cypriot small-scale fishers shows the urgent need to implement and enforce the CFP so that it can deliver tangible results,” Oceana Campaign Director for Sustainable Fisheries Javier López said in a release. “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 E.U. 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.”
