Government battles to lift EU fish ban

CYPRUS’ thriving fish export industry has been given a slap in the face with a temporary ban imposed by the EU.

Government departments are now rushing to get their act together to convince the EU that Cyprus has the necessary legislation to guarantee the quality of fish.

Concerned about the adequacy of controls on the export of fish to the European market, the EU has introduced a ban until it is satisfied that all its specifications are met.

“It has not nothing to do with the suitability of our fish for consumption, but is a problem of procedure and infrastructure,” chief health inspector Sophocles Anthousis told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

He said the EU had requested further details on Cyprus legislation governing fish exports, which reached 62 tones this year, a six-fold increase on 1997.

The health inspector was later backed up by Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous, who was keen to reassure consumers: “Our fish remains of very good quality and the Cypriot consumer can use them without fear.

“What has arisen is a legal, technical matter, which is relevant to the broader issue of harmonisation with the EU.”

The ban is a serious blow to the fishing industry as the local market cannot absorb the excess amounts that have been earmarked for export.

Next week, the Agriculture Ministry will convene a meeting to plan a course of action to get the July 1 ban lifted.

“It is not a serious problem and we hope to solve it in the near future,” Anthousis said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.