House speaker Annita Demetriou called on Friday for stronger support for Cypriot fishermen during a meeting with European Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis.

Demetriou said she hoped the forthcoming EU policy review would include “something more specific” for the sector, and stressed the importance of keeping parliament regularly informed of how European fisheries policy affects Cyprus.

Kadis told the meeting that the commission has completed its evaluation of the common fisheries policy and, drawing on feedback from member states, expects to carry out a targeted review during the next period.

Kadis said his portfolio carried particular weight for the bloc, describing the EU as “a maritime union” with the world’s largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and a coastline exceeding 70,000 kilometres.

Demetriou underlined the strategic importance of fisheries and aquaculture for Cyprus as an island state in the Levant, commenting that “the multiple pressures that the sector is experiencing make the need for substantial, effective and targeted European support imperative.”

The meeting follows a call last month by multiple fishing associations for a ten-year national plan to address falling fish stocks, which they warned had brought the industry to the brink of collapse.

The groups urged the government to apply the EU’s common fisheries policy more thoroughly, including priority access to coastal waters for small scale fishermen, stronger monitoring of illegal fishing, and easier access to funding.

Agriculture Minister Christos Senekis said the government had modernised some 80 fishing vessels since April 2024, and had introduced grant schemes covering up to 100 per cent of eligible costs for small scale coastal fishermen.

He said compensation schemes for damage to catches made by dolphins had paid out €1 million since last year, with total support expected to reach €4 million by 2029, alongside a seperate payment scheme for removing invasive lionfish.