Workshop Objective
To identify, promote and develop effective and practical biofouling management strategies that will ensure shipping and other maritime industries can continue to underpin trade, security and economic development with minimal environmental impact.
HISTORY
The inaugural ANZPAC Workshop on Biofouling Management for Sustainable Shipping in 2013 was an outstanding international event that brought industry together with scientists and regulators, and this success was repeated with a second and third workshop in 2015 and 2017, respectively. The workshop is most similar in scope to the International Congress on Marine Corrosion and Fouling, and therefore held in alternate years to those events. It differs, however, in having a greater focus on practical issues facing the shipping sector in terms of regulatory compliance, efficiency of vessel performance, and other challenges posed by biofouling and its management.
GloFouling Partnerships is part of the wider efforts by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), to protect marine ecosystems from the negative effects of invasive species. The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Project will drive actions to implement the IMO Guidelines for the control and management of ships' biofouling, which provide a globally consistent approach on how biofouling should be controlled and managed to minimise the transfer of invasive aquatic species through ships' hulls. The project will also spur the development of best practices and standards for improved biofouling management in other ocean industries. Twelve countries, representing a mix of developing nations and Small Island Developing States, will spearhead the work of the GloFouling Project as Lead Partnering Countries.
GloFouling R&D Forums are one of the key project outputs to support capacity building and technical support for the implementation of the IMO Biofouling Guidelines, development of innovative technological and other solutions for the control and management of biofouling, and enhanced stakeholder and institutional cooperation for research, monitoring and evaluation of biofouling management and control measures.
Agenda
Oral presentations are mostly by invitation only, and the invited speakers and their topics will be specifically selected to provide a global outlook on current biofouling management needs, requirements and practices (including regional/national perspectives), deficiencies in effectiveness and practicality, the global agenda and the development of national policy and planning priorities, and the status of research in better understanding impacts and developing innovative solutions.
Abstracts are invited on the topics of
- Risks related to marine invasive and non-indigenous species in developing countries;
- Impacts and management approaches for biofouling in:
- aquaculture;
- offshore and ocean energy structures; and
- recreational sailing, yachts and marinas.
For details on submission, go to https://www.glofouling.imo.org/events
Specific goals of the workshop are to:
- Explore the current and future maritime landscape as it relates to recent and proposed regulations, standard development and implementation, including uptake of the IMO Biofouling Guidelines;
- Discuss the needs of vessel operators to find a balance between improved vessel fuel efficiency, reduced maintenance costs, effective biosecurity risk mitigation and compliance with proposed standards;
- Explore perspectives from non-shipping industries (e.g. aquaculture, ocean energy); and,
- Identify where the knowledge and policy gaps are that are hindering the implementation of effective biofouling management strategies and standards
The themes for the 2019 workshop will include: regulations & requirements (biosecurity/antifouling), regional and organisation perspectives on marine bioinvasions, biofouling & vessel efficiency, biofouling management, in-water cleaning (methods & management), invasive & non-indigenous species risks, and domestic & small vessels (risks and management).
Unsolicited poster presentations will be invited.
