Between 2024 and 2025, BlueMove was implemented in Cyprus in partnership with Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre to support small-scale fishers in their transition towards sustainability.
Across the Mediterranean, small-scale coastal fisheries are widely recognised as culturally, socially and environmentally important, yet they remain structurally marginalised when it comes to accessing public funding for sustainability and innovation.
Between 2024 and 2025, BlueMove was implemented in Cyprus in partnership with Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre, with a clear objective: to support small-scale fishers to overcome two persistent barriers, the complex grant administration and the need to pay upfront costs before reimbursement through technical assistance and pre-financing solutions.
Strong demand, real engagement
The programme combined an inception phase analysis with on-the-ground delivery. Six workshops were organised across Cyprus, reaching 66 participants and generating strong interest from 25 small-scale fishers. Many were engaging with the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) for the first time.
Fishers expressed clear demand for practical, low-impact investments that could improve both environmental performance and economic resilience. Dolphin depredation, in particular, emerged as a critical operational and financial pressure, making deterrent devices a priority under the available funding window.
Results within a constrained system
Ultimately, eight fishers received hands-on technical assistance to prepare EMFAF applications, and six applications were approved for dolphin deterrent devices aimed at reducing dolphin depredation.
However, delivery was shaped by structural constraints. While interest in more selective gear (such as traps) was high, these solutions were not eligible under the active EMFAF call. At the same time, banking requirements for pre-financing such as collateral, administrative checks and branch-level approvals, proved incompatible with the scale and timing of small-scale fisheries projects.
To avoid delivery failure and maintain trust with beneficiaries, BlueMove adapted its approach by providing reimbursable grants directly to fishers where bank-based pre-financing could not be arranged in time. This flexibility enabled implementation, but also highlighted the fragility of current funding pathways.
Lessons with relevance beyond Cyprus
The Cyprus experience offers several lessons that resonate across the Mediterranean:
- Eligibility rules matter as much as budgets. Even well-funded programmes fail to deliver transition if they exclude the solutions fishers actually need.
- Pre-financing remains the main bottleneck. Reimbursement-based grants systematically disadvantage small-scale operators without access to capital.
- Technical assistance is not optional. Trusted, hands-on support is essential for translating policy instruments into real-world uptake.
- Adaptive delivery protects trust. Flexibility in implementation is critical when working with communities already exposed to high economic risk.
facilitating a workshop with fishers in Larnaca, Cyprus
Looking ahead
The experience of BlueMove Cyprus confirms that demand for sustainable innovation among small-scale fishers is real, geographically widespread and grounded in practical needs. What is missing is tighter alignment between funding design, financial intermediaries and the operational realities of small-scale fishing.
Future programmes, whether under EMFAF or other transition finance mechanisms, would benefit from earlier coordination with managing authorities, simplified and ready-to-use pre-financing pathways, and delivery models that prioritise accessibility and timing over formal compliance alone.
As Mediterranean stakeholders continue to discuss how to enable a just and effective fisheries transition, the lessons from Cyprus underline a simple message: finance does not drive change unless it is designed to reach those who need it most.