Fishing in eastern Cyprus: licences, rules and Achna reservoir

From the shore: no licence, but still rules

The Cyprus Department of Fisheries and Marine Research publishes the terms for recreational licences every year; the 2026 version is dated 30 December 2025. Its basic principle is that any fishing method not described in the Fisheries Law or in the licence terms is prohibited, with the exception of recreational fishing with hook and line from the shore (Regulation 17A). The department does not issue a separate licence for shore angling; the licence types cover boats, spearguns, fish traps and tourist trips. The Cy-FIS app, in which licence holders must report every trip, is voluntary for shore anglers.

The minimum sizes in the fisheries regulations also apply on the shore. Some examples: white seabream (Diplodus sargus) 23 centimetres, gilthead seabream 20, sea bass 25, groupers 45, grey mullet 16, red mullet 11, mackerel 18 and horse mackerel 15 centimetres. Anything smaller goes back. Fish caught recreationally must also have the upper lobe of the tail fin cut off, and they may not be sold.

For licence holders, the terms ban fishing in each year's designated bathing areas at any time of day, catching bluefin tuna, swordfish, sharks and rays, and taking more than one dusky grouper and one common dentex per angler or boat, per trip and per 24 hours. Special restrictions apply within 100 metres of the entrances to fishing shelters. Anyone shore angling without a licence would do well to follow the same rules.

Licences for boats, spearguns and fish traps

Recreational licences are applied for through the fisheries department's online platform, either with a CY Login account or with a copy of your identity document. The licence is personal and must be shown together with your ID if an inspector asks for it. If you fish from a boat, it must be one declared for the current year.

From a boat, catch limits apply per boat, per trip and per 24 hours: 10 kilograms in total, or 5 kilograms plus one individual fish of any weight, or three albacore and 5 kilograms of other species, however many licence holders are on board. Nets are banned on board, as are more than four fish traps, electric reels of more than 800 watts and fishing with bright lights.

Spearfishing is not allowed between sunset and sunrise, with breathing apparatus, with lights or in bathing areas. Each group carries a yellow, orange or red buoy with a red flag and a white diagonal stripe, visible from 300 metres, and stays within 50 metres of it. The limit is 5 kilograms plus one individual fish per person per day.

Marine protected areas around Sotira

The licence terms list the marine protected areas where special rules apply. Near Sotira these are Paralimni, Cape Greco, the sea caves of Ayia Napa and Ayia Napa itself. The fisheries department provides a map in KMZ format on its website.

Off Ayia Napa there is a protected area with artificial reefs where, under decree R.A.A. (Κ.Δ.Π.) 322/2021, fishing of any kind is prohibited, recreational fishing included. No boats may pass within 150 metres of the point marked "Kerynia", except vessels of the Republic and dive boats flying a diving flag. In the protected area off Paralimni, too, decree R.A.A. (Κ.Δ.Π.) 404/2017 prohibits all fishing within an area defined by four coordinate points off the coast.

In September 2026 the fisheries department put two changes out for consultation: a revised decree for Paralimni, which would add a deeper zone to the protected area but reopen the shallow coastal strip to fishing under the general rules, and a new decree that would ban fishing of any kind in the Nisia protected area within the Natura 2000 site "Thalassia Periochi Nisia" (CY3000006), explicitly including rod fishing from the shore. The public consultation was announced for 22 September 2026 at Paralimni town hall. Whether and from when the ban will apply had not been settled when we checked on 7 November 2026.

Fishing shelters and what may take the bait

The fisheries department runs 16 fishing shelters in Cyprus. In the Larnaca and Famagusta area they are Ayia Triada, Paralimni, Ayia Napa, Potamos Liopetriou, Xylofagou, Ormideia, Xylotymvou, Larnaca and Zygi. They are built for professional fishermen but take other boats when there is space. The slipways, among them those at Paralimni, Ayia Napa and Potamos Liopetriou, may be used by anyone as long as they do not disrupt the running of the shelter.

From Sotira the nearest is the small Ayia Triada fishing shelter, around 8.7 road kilometres and about 13 minutes by car according to our own OSRM route calculation; the fisheries department does not list a slipway there. The nearest slipway is at Potamos Liopetriou, around 9.9 road kilometres and about 12 minutes by car; the harbour at the river mouth is described in the guide to the Kokkinochoria. Ayia Napa harbour is around 10.7 kilometres and about 16 minutes by car, the Paralimni fishing shelter around 11.1 kilometres and about 15 minutes.

Two introduced species call for care. The silver-cheeked toadfish is one of the most common bycatches, bites off bait and fish with its beak-like teeth and contains the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin; it is not to be eaten. The lionfish has venomous fin spines but is edible, and the fisheries department encourages catching it. Both are described in the guide to jellyfish, venomous fish and snakes.

Achna reservoir: freshwater fishing with a licence

Fishing in reservoirs always requires a licence from the fisheries department, and it is valid only while a reservoir is declared open for fishing. Achna reservoir is the only one in Famagusta district on the list of reservoirs open in 2026, but under the 2026 conditions it is closed from 1 January to 30 June. For Achna and for Polemidia reservoir an extra condition applies: fish may be neither killed nor taken away alive, and every catch is carefully unhooked and released alive. The species the department lists for Achna are red swamp crayfish, carp, mosquitofish, roach, channel catfish, tilapia, largemouth bass and pumpkinseed sunfish.

The licence is issued to people aged 12 and over, with written parental consent between 12 and 18. Children under 12 may fish only if their name is on a parent's licence, using a telescopic rod of no more than 5 metres and staying within 5 metres of the parent; minors wear a life jacket. Fishing is allowed from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset, from the bank only, with one rod, one line and one hook; a treble hook counts as one, and lures with several hooks are allowed when spinning for predatory fish. Nets, lights, floating devices and unmanned devices such as drones are prohibited. Cars must be parked at least 15 metres from the high-water line, and fires, camping and litter are off limits. Breaches can be punished with a fine of up to 8,542 euros, up to six months in prison, or both.

From Sotira the dam wall is around 15.7 road kilometres and about 21 minutes by car according to our own OSRM route calculation. BirdLife Cyprus names the dam as a breeding site of the spur-winged lapwing, so anglers share the bank with sensitive birds; see the birdwatching guide. Suite 203 in Sotira lies between the reservoir and the coast and is expected to be ready for occupancy in March 2027.