Following on from successful interactive forums held at the Southampton and Genoa boat shows, the Marine Biofouling Workshop series being rolled out by ICOMIA, moves on to the Barcelona Salon Nautica where it will be held on Wednesday 15th October, from 10.00 to 11.00 at the Espai del Mar Conference Room. (The location is at Moll D’Espanya, via the entrance to the show near the Barcelona Aquarium.)
The workshop is entitled: ‘Clean hulls – essential for sustainable boating and marine diversity.’ It will be free-to-attend for those interested in learning more about the subject, or indeed for anyone who has information or suggestions to contribute to the discussion.
A panel of experts moderated by Jose Luis Fayos, Technical Manager of ANEN (Spanish Association of Nautical Companies), will explain how and why biofouling is so damaging for the marine environment, and how it is costly for the owners and operators of leisure craft.
Also, the constantly developing and varied range of solutions that can be employed to combat this threat, and how they can be effectively and safely applied will be comprehensively addressed by the panel. Already it has become clear from the previous discussions that a range of options can be employed including antifouling coatings, ultrasonics, fouling release wraps, and controlled periodic in-water cleaning.
The moderator at the Southampton show was Julian Hunter, Head of Sustainability for ICOMIA, and in his introduction he said, “There is a clear need to preserve aquatic biodiversity (otherwise referred to as the ‘delicate balance of nature’) by controlling the threat from invasive species which can be transported on the immersed areas of ships and boats. This is becoming increasingly important where nature is already stressed due to increasing water temperatures, giving foreign species an opportunity to invade, disrupt and in some cases dominate sensitive habitats.”
“The threat to the biodiversity in our oceans from man’s activities is recognised and reflected in regulatory policy such as the EU Green Deal, UK Environmental Policy, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the UN Environment Program. The EU are reviewing their Regulations to protect sensitive aquatic ecosystems and the UK is likely to follow.”
Additional notes: These Workshop sessions are organised by ICOMIA (International Council of Marine Industry Associations) and funded by its members as an interactive advisory service for the recreational boating community.
ICOMIA are active partners in the GloFouling Project organised by IMO (International Maritime Organisation. It is the first-ever globally coordinated effort to address biofouling from shipping and all marine sectors including recreational boating.
Anyone who wishes to reach out to Julian Hunter for a technical discussion or more information on this topic, is welcome to contact him via LinkedIn using this link to his online page: https://lnkd.in/g4YtZ8Me
