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Description
Offshore aquaculture in Norway and the World in general, requires solutions to maintain the quality of the nets and cages, and avoid the accumulation of fouling. Current solutions are based on the use of metal-based pesticides, persistent and toxic for the environment.The outcome of this EEA Project is an effective, non-toxic, environmentally- friendly antifouling marine paint BLUEPAINT for fishnets in aquaculture. BLUEPAINT is a protective coating containing the biodegradable BMX-11 antifouling agent developed in Portugal. During this project, we will optimize BLUEPAINT and test it in operational conditions in Norway, as well as validate requirements to reach the market, achieving a maturity of TRL7. A partnership was established between BioMimetx (PT) and IDN/Morefish group (NO) to support this technology development. Our ultimate vision is to make the safer BluePaint the leading antifouling paint for aquaculture in Norway and the world while replacing the use of toxic agents and current marine paints. The implementation of this project proposal relies on two main axis: the technical development and validation of an innovative antifouling solution BLUEPAINT for coating aquaculture nets in aquaculture and the business strategy definition of such product, including registration processes required for its commercialization. The main actions consist on: - the development of the antifouling coating prototype based on BMX-11 as main antifouling agent;- the execution of a full-scale test in a salmon farm - demonstration in operational environment;- the gap assessment for registration of the antifouling paint BLUEPAINT;- the implementation of an updated market analysis and business plan for BLUEPAINT development
Summary of project results
The management of biofouling in aquaculture is essential for the fish farmers and for regulators. The use of net coatings containing antifouling agents is the most used solution. The use of paint coatings on the nets, containing heavy metalsbased biocide agents, like cuprous oxide, are still used in large extent. The Norwegian salmon industry alone consumes around 1200 tons of antifouling paint annually. There are still major gaps in fish farmers capacity to manage biofouling.Authorities aim to strongly reduce the release of copper into the environment and enforce the need for alternative antifouling technologies. Aquaculture may help feed the world into the future, but biofouling stands out as a clear barrier. New protective coatings, and especially new antifouling agents, are required to ensure a better and safer protection of the nets in salmon farms, that are innocuous to the fish and the environment, efficient against fouler organisms and cost effective.Our objective was to develop an effective, non-toxic, environmentally- friendly antifouling marine paint BLUEPAINT for fishnets in aquaculture.
BLUEPAINT is a protective coating containing the biodegradable BMX-11 antifouling agent developed in Portugal.The implementation of this project proposal was based on two approaches:1) the technical development and validation of an innovative antifouling solution BLUEPAINT for coating aquaculture nets in aquaculture and2) the business strategy definition of such product, including registration processes required for its commercialization.During this project we developped an antifouling coating prototype based on BMX-11 as main antifouling agent, that was tested and validated in operational environment in actual fish farms. We also performed an assessment of requirements for registration of the antifouling paint BLUEPAINT and perfomed several tests to determine its toxicity profile. Finally, we implemented a market analysis and business plan for BLUEPAINT development.
This new technology has consolidated into a product that is already impacting the industry. We are in advanced negotiations with paint and chemical companies to become a commercial solution. The main application is in the aquaculture industry and decurs strongly from the work achieved in this project, clearly a good practice project.
Summary of bilateral results
This project needed to be performed with partners in Chile or in Norway, due to their connection with the salmon industry. In the Program framework, a Norwegian partner was the obvious choice.This was clearly important due to the possibility to work directly with Norwegian salmon farmers and be able to gather information from local operations as well as regulatory aspects. The support of the Partner was important in finding legal and regulatory information in Norway, exchange data regarding the industry of salmon farming in Norway, and especially in providing a test-bed with salmon farmers for the screening processes and validation tests that were performed.We intend to proceed bilateral collaboration with Norwegian Partners, namely with entities that we contacted in the frame of the project and that are relevant for the future commercialization of this new technology.