VESSEL BIOFOULING
Obsolete Vessels
Commercial Ships
Recreational Boats
VESSEL BIOFOULING
Obsolete Vessels
2 studies:
effect of transit
effect of in-water cleaning
Commercial Ships
Vessel sampling
Research overview
Recreational Boats
Pilot study in San Francisco Bay
Obsolete Vessels
The effect of transit on
biofouling
marine
brackish
POINT LOMA & FLORENCE
A
FW
C
B
E
D
F
32
temperature (°C)
28
24
20
16
*
12
8
0
7
14
21
28
time (days)
35
42
Obsolete Vessels
Before
After
sc
t
s
us
t/r
nt
na
m
pa
in
re
s/
of
ilm
a
le
bi
ot
bi
g/
g
ac
e
ac
l
ba
rn
in
tin
ar
us
cr
en
ch
an
br
ad
de
images
ba
rn
before transit
mean percent cover
Obsolete Vessels
80
FLORENCE
60
40
20
0
80
POINT LOMA
60
40
20
after transit
0
Obsolete Vessels
40
pre-transit
Conopeum chesapeakensis
Balanus improvisus
Corbula amurensis
Gnorisphaeroma oregonense
Gammarus daiberi
Uromunna sp
post-transit
Conopeum chesapeakensis
Balanus improvisus
Gnorisphaeroma oregonense
6 ‘new’ hydroids
species accumulation
biological samples
FLORENCE, post-transit
POINT LOMA, post-transit
30
FLORENCE, pre-transit
20
POINT LOMA, post-transit
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
number of samples
22 pre-transit species
57 post-transit species
At least 7 NIS arrived in
Texas
50
Obsolete Vessels
Scamping the hull of the ORION
S.C.A.M.P. = submersible cleaning and maintenance platform
sampling (images and biological samples) before and after scamping
Obsolete Vessels
100
images
vessel appendages
before
scamping
after
scamping
mean percent cover
80
bare space
60
biofouling
40
20
0
biofouling categories
Obsolete Vessels
biological
samples
before
scamping
after
scamping
mean number of species per sample
ORION: average spp richness per sample
20
(a)
16
12
8
4
0
appendages
bottom
mid depth
waterline
Obsolete Vessels
ORION: species prevalence in samples
biological
samples
after
scamping
percent prevalence in samples
before
scamping
100
80
60
40
20
0
ranked species (according to pre-scrub prevalence)
Obsolete Vessels
ORION: variation among organism types in response to scamping
biological
samples
140
2
2
3
6
11
12
average percent reduction
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
-20
e
cem
nt
s
b ys
t
s
h
fas
spp
ean
owt
d
e
l
r
c
l
i
o
g
a
b
h
st
us
mo
c ru
nto
e
e
l
m
bi
f ila
mo
us
Obsolete Vessels
Obsolete Vessels: Summary
• substantial decrease in organism abundance/percent
cover (image analysis)
• high prevalence of species in samples after
transit/cleaning (biological samples analysis)
• live specimens observed for all common species after
transit/scamping
• vessel colonization by ‘new’ species can be substantial
during transit
• further study could determine the risk of invasion after
transit (or scamping + transit) for obsolete vessels
across space & time
Obsolete Vessels
Obsolete vessels: current status
OR Senate Bill 432
VERSAR/MARAD sampling hull biofouling at 3 sites
Further evaluation of SCAMPING
Louisiana state officials allowing entry only after hull surveys
of a ship in Beaumont (Texas)
Commercial Vessels
Commercial vessel biofouling
1. Variation in traffic patterns
(number of arrivals, source ports, port connectivity)
2. Variation among ship types
(WSA, speed, port duration)
3. Vessel maintenance
(most recent dry-docking, paint types, in-water cleaning)
4. Variation in biofouling
(niche areas, organism diversity, quantity & quality)
Commercial ships
Ca, Or & Wa arrivals for 2 yrs = 29,282
Number of
vessels donated
1 - 10
11 - 100
101 - 1000
>1001
Commercial ships
29,282 vessels = 265 million m2 WSA
coastal
80
overseas
60
40
20
ke
r
ta
n
er
pa
ss
en
g
ot
he
r
ge
ne
ra
l
r
ta
in
e
co
n
lk
bu
au
t
o
0
ba
rg
e
WSA (x 1 million m 2)
100
Commercial ships
Vessel sampling: containerships (n=22)
Commercial ships
barges (G&E)
tunicates
bulkers (C&T)
containerships (C&T)
oysters
present study
mussels
tubeworms
West Coast
containerships
hydroids
encrusting
bryozoans
goose-neck
barnacles
acorn barnacles
phaeophyta
rhodophyta
chlorophyta
0
20
40
60
80
frequency of occurence (percent of vessels)
100
Commercial ships
dry docking and biofouling
12
number of taxa per ship
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
20
40
period since last dry dock (months)
containerships (black squares, solid line)
other ship types (white triangles, dashed line)
60
Commercial ships
Commercial ships current status
California assembly bill 740
remove fouling on a “regular basis”
adopt regulations governing management of hull fouling by Jan 2012
IMO ban on TBT (Jan 1st 2008)
ABRPI future studies
sampling different vessel types
experimental studies (organism condition)
NZ: major study 2008 (n = 270 commercial vessels)
Recreational boats
Recreational vessel biofouling
Pilot study based in San Francisco Bay
Questionnaires (n = 214)
Vessel maintenance & usage, voyage locations
Level of Fouling (n = >1000)
scale 0 – 5
Hull sampling (n = 72)*
underwater pole-cam
Recreational boats
most recent paint application (n = 199)
percent of respondents
40
30
20
10
0
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
prior to
2000
Recreational boats
Number of cleanings since last paint application
percent of respondents
40
30
20
10
0
don't
know
0
1
2
3
4
5
6 to 10
hull cleaning locations
in-water
elsewhere
2%
in-water at
marina
91%
on trailer
7%
>10
Recreational boats
boat trips within the Bay in the last 12 months
number of trips within SFB (n = 214)
20
15
10
5
no
30
>
30
26
to
25
21
to
20
to
16
11
to
15
10
6
to
5
to
1
ne
no
un
su
re
0
an
sw
er
percent of respondents
25
Recreational boats
Boat trips outside of the Bay and Delta
1 to 5 trips
14%
none
76%
> 5 trips
2%
no answer
8%
analysis and report in 2008
Funding Acknowledgements
California State Lands Commission
Maritime Administration
US Fish & Wildlife (through WRP)