2. Fleet Background 



The Cypriot fishing fleet is considered small by 

 most standards. The nation's fishing fleet consists 

 mostly of small rowboats or wooden sailboats. The 

 trawler fleet has fluctuated greatly during the past 3 

 decades. In 1952, for example, the trawl fleet 

 consisted of 10 vessels. The fleet remained at 12 

 vessels between 1961 and 1979, when the number 

 declined to 8 vessels.' In 1974 hostilities divided the 

 island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek 

 area controlled by the Cypriot Government and a 

 Turkish-Cypriot area.^ The conflict resulted in the 

 loss of nearly 40 percent of the fishing grounds and 

 disrupted fishing for many years. 



The Government of Cyprus first attempted to 

 control fishing off the coast of Cyprus by limiting the 

 number of trawlers to 10 licensed Cypriot trawlers in 

 1952.' This number was increased to 12 trawlers in 

 1961." The number of trawlers fluctuated between 10 

 and 12 until 1979, when the number declined to 9 

 vessels.^ The Cypriot trawler fleet typically consisted 

 of 8 medium-sized wooden trawlers and 3 medium- 

 sized steel trawlers.* The Fisheries Department of 

 Cyprus implemented several programs to restrict 

 fishing effort in 1982. One measure was to restrict 

 the number of trawlers allowed to fish. The 

 government also enacted closed fishing seasons. 

 Between 1982 and 1984 the trawler fleet included 

 only 8 vessels, which included 2 high-seas vessels (a 

 570-GRT vessel and a 2,584-GRT vessel). The 

 artisanal fleet grew rapidly as tourists visited Cyprus 

 and began paying high prices for fresh fish; the 

 fishing fleet reached 97 artisanal fishing boats in 1986 

 and in 1988 grew to 117 inshore vessels and 2 

 licensed trawlers.^ A new vessel (a 1,533-GRT) was 

 added in 1987. Another new vessel, a 5,624-GRT 

 vessel, appeared on Cypriot rolls in 1992. The 

 authors have no information about these vessels. It 

 is highly unlikely that these giant vessels are fishing 

 in coastal waters off Cyprus or that they are fishing 

 to supply the tourist trade on Cyprus (table 1). 



The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission 

 (lATTC) reported that the Isabel Tuna, a Cypriot-flag 

 tuna purse seiner, entered the lATTC tuna fishing 

 grounds for the first time in 1991.* The U.S. 

 Department of State advised the Government of 

 Cyprus of United States laws regarding requirements 

 for countries with purse seine vessels fishing for tuna 



in the region.' On March 12, 1992, the Economic 

 Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia met with 

 officials of the Government of Cyprus to review the 

 question of Cypriot-flag vessels fishing for tuna in the 

 Pacific. Cypriot officials indicated that a directive 

 has been sent to all fishing vessels flying the Cypriot 

 flag concerning U.S. regulations.'" The Isabel Tuna 

 fished for yellowfin tuna in the lATTC area of the 

 Pacific throughout 1992 and into 1993." The FAO 

 statistical table does not reflect any catches in the 

 Pacific Ocean (FAO area 87) for 1991 (table 2). 



In August 1993, the Office of Naval Intelligence, 

 identified 31 fishing vessels reflagged in Cyprus; the 

 vessels ranged from the Triton (a 39-GRT vessel built 

 in the UK in 1972) to the Klaipedskii Bereg (1 1,755- 

 GRT Russian refrigerated vessel built in East 

 Germany in 1990). See table 4 for a listing of 

 reflagged vessels registered in Cyprus in 1993. 



3 . Modernization Programs 



All new fishing vessels entering the Cypriot 

 fishing fleet reportedly at limited to 250-horsepower 

 engines and must displace an old vessel of a similar 

 size. This, reportedly, has limited the growth of the 

 Cypriot fishing fleet to a total of 8 trawlers.'^ 



4. Decommissioning Programs 



The authors are not aware of any 

 decommissioning programs. 



5. Shipyards 



Cypriot shipyards probably can build and repair 

 small wooden boats and possibly some steel-hulled 

 vessels. The authors have very little additional 

 information about Cypriot shipyards. 



6. International Agreements 



Cypriot trawlers once fished off the coasts of 

 Egypt and Israel where they averaged about 500 

 kilograms of fish on a daily basis. No additional 

 information is available to the authors about 

 international fishery agreements reached by Cyprus 

 and other countries. 



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