Biofouling in Salmon Aquaculture: the effectiveness of alternative netting materials and coatings in coastal British Columbia.

摘要

Biofouling in salmon aquaculture is an important issue. The use of copper based antifoulants contributes to marine pollution and managing biofouling on untreated nets incurs a heavy cost on the industry. What is needed is an antifoulant coating that balances the needs of the industry with good environmental practices. This study describes the effectiveness of seven alternative netting treatments and two copper based treatments as compared to an untreated nylon net. Effectiveness was measured in terms of percent net occlusion, percent cover of major fouling groups and biomass. Following eight months immersion, results show that the alternative treatments did not out-perform the untreated nylon control, and that the two copper treatments significantly outperformed the control and all of the alternative treatments tested in this study.;The results demonstrate that the alternative treatments tested in this study were unable to meet the performance standards set by industry, that more research is needed into alternative antifoulant coatings for aquaculture, and that the effectiveness of copper based treatments will continue to be a barrier to the implementation of alternative antifouling treatments.;Keywords: biofouling; salmon; copper antifoulant; image analysis.