Sea-trial verification of a novel system for monitoring biofouling and testing anti-fouling coatings in highly energetic environments targeted by the marine renewable energy industry.

A novel system was developed to deploy settlement panels to monitor biofouling growth and evaluate antifouling coatings at depths representative of operational conditions of full-scale marine renewable energy devices. Biofouling loading, species diversity, and succession were assessed at depths ranging from 25-40 m at four tests sites in Orkney (UK) featuring extreme wave and tidal current exposure to more sheltered conditions. Evaluations were carried out over a period of 8 months with intermediate retrieval of samples after 3 months.