IT WAS fisherman’s paradise yesterday in the Limassol area after thousands of sea bream were released from a nearby fish farm.
The company which owns the farm, off Governor’s Beach, said the cages had been sabotaged, releasing some 70 tonnes of sea bream worth around €400,000.
That did not matter much to dozens of fisherman who scrambled to the Governor’s Beach area after hearing that thousands of fish were loose.
Television footage showed lines of fishermen knee-high in the water, filling bucket after bucket with sea bream.
“They caught a lot, they filled dustbins,” one said.
One man said he caught five kilos in two hours – a woman said she netted 25 fish.
Nets, buckets, coolers, were all filled to the brim.
For some, it appeared that catching them took as long as changing the bait.
“As long as they bite we will be here,” said a man who had caught three kilos.
Authorities said the company had reported to police that the release was an act of sabotage.
The company said it must have taken place between 4pm on Tuesday and 6am Wednesday.
They told police that the perpetrator or perpetrators had cut 56 ropes that supported the cages causing them to sink and setting the fish free.