Prevention of biofouling on aquaculture nets with eco-friendly antifouling paint formulation

Aquaculture, which is an important part of food supply, is usually carried out in cage nets made of textile materials. Fouling organisms settle on the cage nets over time, close the mesh openings, and cause unwanted weight gain. In order to prevent fouling, aquaculture nets are generally treated with antifouling paints. In this paper, warp knitted cage nets made from various raw materials were treated with three different antifouling paints. Econea was used as a biocide to prepare an eco-friendly antifouling paint formulation, and two copper-based commercial antifouling paints were supplied for comparison. Antifouling paint-treated and untreated net samples were immersed in a marine ecosystem next to an aquaculture zone for 6 months. Settlement of fouling organisms on nets was observed by taking underwater photographs at periodic intervals. Following the field study, changes in the structure of the nets and antifouling performance of the paints were evaluated considering the results of underwater photographs, biomass growth, variation in mass and strength tests. Colour fastness of the antifouling paints to sea water was also measured to learn about biocide release and surface hydrophobicity. The results show that copper-free eco-friendly antifouling paint is just as effective against the fouling mechanism for all types of nets as copper-based commercial antifouling paints. The novel eco-friendly formulation has promising results, which provides an alternative for producers when considering the selection of raw materials.