Mediterranean CleanUp – Nea Kios Expansion
THE CHALLENGE
Preventing Fishing Gear from Becoming Marine Pollution
Fishing nets, ropes, lines, traps and other equipment are essential to commercial fishing. When they reach the end of their useful life, however, coastal communities need accessible and reliable systems through which they can dispose of them responsibly.
Without suitable collection and management infrastructure, unwanted equipment may accumulate around ports, be sent to landfill or enter the marine environment.
Lost and abandoned fishing gear can remain in the sea for long periods. Some equipment continues trapping fish, seabirds, marine mammals and other wildlife – a process known as ghost fishing.
Nets and ropes can also become entangled in sensitive habitats, including rocky reefs and seagrass meadows. As plastic fishing gear gradually breaks down, it can produce smaller fragments and microplastics that become increasingly difficult to recover.
Creating a Practical Local Disposal System
Preventing fishing-gear pollution requires more than encouraging individual fishers to behave responsibly.
Collection points need to be conveniently located and supported by clear procedures for storing, transporting, sorting and processing the material. Fishers must also understand how the system operates and trust that the equipment they deliver will be managed appropriately.
Local coordination is particularly important. A person who understands the port and its fishing community can encourage participation, monitor the collection point and communicate practical issues to the organisations managing the wider programme.
Nea Kios did not previously have a structured system connected to Enaleia’s regional network for the collection and recycling of end-of-life fishing gear.
The challenge was therefore to establish the necessary infrastructure and relationships while making responsible disposal an accessible part of everyday fishing activity.
THE PROJECT
MEDITERRANEAN CLEANUP – NEA KIOS extended Enaleia’s Mediterranean CleanUp model to Nea Kios.
Led by Enaleia with support from the Argosaronic Environment Foundation, the project focused on preventing fishing gear from becoming marine pollution by creating a system through which unwanted equipment could be collected, stored and transferred for appropriate processing.
The approach combined four connected elements:
- Local infrastructure: Providing a designated place where fishers could leave end-of-life equipment.
- Community participation: Working directly with professional fishers to encourage consistent use of the collection system.
- Education and prevention: Strengthening understanding of marine plastic pollution and responsible fishing-gear management.
- Circular management: Connecting the collected material with established transportation, sorting, recycling and upcycling processes.
The project built on the cooperation already established between Enaleia and AEF in other fishing communities across the Argosaronic and wider Argolic Gulf.
By expanding the model to Nea Kios, the initiative moved the region closer to a coordinated network of ports capable of intercepting fishing gear before it becomes marine litter.
OUTCOMES
The project established a functional fishing-gear prevention and collection system in Nea Kios.
A dedicated collection point gave professional fishers a clear place to deliver end-of-life nets and other unwanted equipment. Direct engagement with the fishing community supported understanding of the system and encouraged participation in its operation.
Collected material entered a structured chain of storage, transportation and transfer to appropriate facilities. This connected a local port intervention with a wider circular-economy network capable of sorting and recovering suitable materials.
The project expanded the geographic reach of the Mediterranean CleanUp model within the Argolic Gulf and added Nea Kios to the growing network of participating fishing ports.
As part of the wider cooperation between AEF and Enaleia, the regional network had established disposal points in Spetses, Hydra, Koilada, Nea Kios and Porto Cheli by 2026. Together, these interventions had collected more than 12 tonnes of fishing gear and marine plastic.
Most importantly, the Nea Kios expansion embedded prevention within the port itself. Rather than waiting for fishing equipment to become marine litter and attempting to recover it afterwards, the system created an opportunity to intercept unwanted gear before it could reach the sea.
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