The relation of the Cypriots with the sea goes back to the earliest phases of civilization of the island, since its first inhabitants arrived from the sea. Evidence from themost recent excavations date these phases to the 9th millennium B.C. From hereon, the connections and keen interest of the Cypriots in the sea remain and are evident in the arts and crafts of the various periods (pottery, figurines, jewellery), as well as through a variety of material remains.
After Cyprus became an Independent Republic in 1960, the new State included fisheries development in the development policies of the governments. As a result the Department of Fisheries was founded in 1964 within the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources; its mandate was the development of fisheries and the rational management of marine resources in general.
In the year 2000, the Department was renamed to Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFMR) because of the significant expansion of scientific research in its various aspects of activities to broader scopes and objectives