Preliminary Results on the Antifouling Potential of Copper Wire and

Dyneema® Fiber Combined Twines for Aquaculture Net Cages

Abstract: - Antifouling management for aquaculture cage nets has developed over the years to reduce the costs

of cleaning the nets and minimize the damages caused to the nets by the encrustation of benthic organisms.

There have been various approaches to this end such as using toxic paints (TBT-SPC, etc.) and nanomaterial

coatings, mechanical cleaning using brushes, and constructing the net using copper alloys instead of nylon (or

other) material, etc. We designed and constructed experimental fish farm nets substituting Dyneema® fibers

with uncoated copper wire 0.15-0.2 mm in diameter by 5%, 10%, 20%, and 40% and deployed them in a

commercial operating fish farm for almost 7 months. We examined their antifouling performance based on the

percentage of mesh openness remaining by the end of the experimental period. The results showed that the

antifouling performance increased with copper substitution level and peaked at a level of 29.79% and

maximum mesh openness at 46.5%.

Key-Words: - antifouling, aquaculture cage nets, copper wire, Dyneema® fibers, marine aquaculture

Received: January 9, 2023. Revised: April 29, 2023. Accepted: May 28, 2023. Published: June 19, 2023.

1 Introduction

It should be noted that typical nets are usually made

from synthetic fibres like nylon, polyester, HDPE,

etc. Nylon is mostly preferred due to its breaking

load and durability, [1]. However, these nets are

more expensive than standard synthetic materials

and affected by UV radiation when exposed to the

sun, [2]. A major problem in aquaculture is the

fouling of the nets from benthic fauna and flora

creating many problems to the health of the

cultivated organisms and the net material

characteristics, [3], [4].

Antifouling management for aquaculture cage

nets was developed over the years to reduce the

costs of cleaning the nets and minimize the damages

caused to the nets by the encrustation of benthic

organisms. At the same time, the benefits of the

prevention of fouling are numerous including

reduction of net drag, increased water circulation

within the nets, and improved rearing performance

for the cultivated organisms. The main method so

far has been the painting of the nets with a paint that

includes among others, a toxic metal – mainly

copper and zinc - which prevents the establishment

of a biofilm which is the basis for the development

of bacteria colonies at first, and subsequently other

organisms, [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. These paints are the

most preferred method of anti-fouling until today

due to their results. However, it has been shown that

they are harmful to the marine environment even in

small concentrations, [6], [10], [11]. High copper

concentrations have been observed in sediments

near marine fish farms where antifouling paints are

used such as in the cases of salmon, [12], and

European seabass and Gilthead seabream farms, [6].

Previous studies in Greece have shown that zinc and

copper can be measured in the tissues of European

Seabass and Gilthead seabream fish but at levels

much lower than those allowed for food for human

consumption, [6]. Such findings led to the

establishment of guidelines for the use of such

paints all over the world and mainly the restriction

of their use and reduction or even elimination of

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.59

Alexis Conides, Ilias Kallias,

Efthimia Cotou, Panos Georgiou,

Ioannis Gialamas, Dimitris Klaoudatos

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

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Volume 19, 2023

ALEXIS CONIDES1, ILIAS KALLIAS1, EFTHIMIA COTOU1, PANOS GEORGIOU1

IOANNIS GIALAMAS1, DIMITRIS KLAOUDATOS2

1Hellenic Centre for Marine Research,

46.7 km Athens-Sounion, Anavyssos 19013,

GREECE

2Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment,

University of Thessaly,

Phytokou Street, 38 446 Volos,

GREECE

TBT-holding compounds in such products, [13]. In

addition, they are listed in the EU Directive for

dangerous substances (67/548/EEC) [see, [10], for

an analysis].

Another approach tested was the design and

manufacture of fish nets made of pure copper alloy,

[14], [15]. In Greece, for example, there are at least

2 companies that produce such nets: Hellenic

Copper and Aluminum Industry SA and

VIOHALCO SA (Greek Branch). Even though these

nets showed very excellent anti-fouling properties,

they are heavy and expensive, very difficult in

handling and require large storage space.

Most recently, metal oxide nanoparticle paints

have been developed, [16]. Most are using

nanoparticles of Cu2O in the paint, following the

modification of the surface of the net twines with

substances such as polyaniline, [17], [18], [19], [20].

These nanomaterial coatings have advantages as

they show improved adhesiveness on the net twine

surface and do not alter the basic technical

characteristics of the net such as elasticity,

mechanical strength, and plasticity. On the other

hand, their main disadvantage is their instability and

leaching, [17], [21].

Having considered the above approaches and

their advantages and disadvantages, we have

concluded that the main criteria, inter alia, for an

anti-fouling approach should be low cost,

preservation of the technical characteristics of the

net material, easy handling, maintenance and

storage and high performance in terms of

environmental impact (leaching or otherwise).

Therefore, 100% metal alloys and TBT-type paints

based on Cu cannot be the modern solution. Our

proposed solution is to design a completely new

thread composed of made of Dyneema® synthetic

fibers and copper cable. These new combined

twines were used for the construction of fish farm

nets and studied for 7 months for their performance.

This paper aims to present our preliminary results

on the performance of these nets in terms of anti-

fouling properties in an actual environment of an

operational coastal cage sea bass and seabream farm

in Greece.

2 Problem Formulation

The objective of our study is to create an innovative

new twine material that will exhibit equal or better

characteristics than the ordinary standard nylon or

nowadays, Dyneema fibre net, and which will be

more environmentally friendly than the standard Cu

painted nets, more stable than the recent

nanoparticle net coatings when exposed in seawater

and easier to handle in comparison to the metal alloy

nets.

To achieve these objectives, we attempted to

combine the existing antifouling approaches by

designing a new aquaculture net based on the

combination of pure non-varnished copper wires

0.1-0.2 mm in diameter (commonly used for

transformer windings) with 0.1-0.2 mm in diameter

Dyneema® fibres and creating a new metal-

polyethylene (M-Pt) combined twine for braided

knotless nets. The design and construction of this

M-Pt twine were carried out with the cooperation of

DIOPAS SA (a Greek company specialising in the

manufacture of fisheries and aquaculture ropes and

nets since special machinery is required to knit the

fibres and wires into a single twine and then use this

twine to create cage nets. The nets were then tested

under normal fish farm conditions at the Sagiada

AZA (allocated zone for aquaculture), North

Greece.

3 Problem Solution

3.1 Methodology

Uncoated and unvarnished Cu wire with a diameter

of 0.15-0.2 mm was purchased from China and used

to create a fish net cage twine in combination with

Dyneema fibres. A typical fish cage twine is

210d/24 (appx. 0.6 mm in diameter) even though the

denier number of each net depends on the buyer's

specifications regarding strength. We have designed

a series of fish cage nets with a mesh of 16 mm

(hexagonal) using M-Pt twine which contained 0%

copper fibers (control; 100% from Dyneema®), 5%

(5% copper-95% Dyneema®), 10% (10% copper-

90% Dyneema®), 20% (20% copper-80%

Dyneema®) and 40% (40% copper-60%

Dyneema®). In addition, another 2 nets were

constructed: the first was painted with the standard

Cu2O-based antifouling paint (Jotun Hellas Ltd;

Cu2O 12%), and the second with a modern

nanoparticle-based non-Cu antifouling coating. A

total of 7 nets were constructed. Each net was

circular (cylindrical in 3D) and exhibited 12 m in

diameter and 11 m in depth. They were used for fish

production in an operating fish farm constantly

immersed in the sea until all the meshes were closed

by encrustations and fouling. The experimental

period started on October 8, 2022, and ended on

April 20, 2023 (a total of approximately 7 months).

On a bimonthly basis, close-up photographs were

taken from each net. A series of high-resolution

photographs (Canon EOS cameras and lenses) were

taken from each net (100x100 cm area in all cases).

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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.59

Alexis Conides, Ilias Kallias,

Efthimia Cotou, Panos Georgiou,

Ioannis Gialamas, Dimitris Klaoudatos

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

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The photo gallery then was fed into ImageJ image

analysis software to create a database of areas and

dimensions and thus, calculate the area of the mesh

that is clogged by fouling organisms at each time

point and calculate the overall fouling percentage.

The time series of average covered area data

enabled the comparison of the antifouling

effectiveness of each approach based on the

progress of the area covered by fouling organisms

and the time required to completely cover the mesh

since the first immersion of the net in the sea.

3.2 Results

The results are shown in Figure 1. Overall there are

2 main results obtained from this study: (a) first and

as expected, the standard Cu/Zn paint-coated nets

showed the best performance in terms of fouling

prevention during the experimental period of almost

7 months; (b) all of the nets except the control,

showed sufficient antifouling characteristics during

the period in which, under normal circumstances,

the fish farm staff changes the nets (for example 15

days for meshes up to 10 mm, and up to 1 month for

larger meshes). Small-mesh nets clogged faster than

large-mesh nets. Finally, the nets which included

copper wire showed a gradual resistance to fouling

in the experimental period of 7 months constantly

immersed in seawater.

The antifouling performance measured as the

percentage of unclogged surface started from 20.2%

for a net with 5% substitution and reached a

maximum of 43.7% for a net with 20% substitution.

Nets with a 40% substitution showed a performance

at 41.5% which is statistically similar to the value

obtained for 20% substitution levels.

Fig. 1: Comparison of experimental net antifouling

performance among the 7 different types of nets

used in the experiments after 7 months of constant

immersion in seawater.

In particular, the results showed 3 groups of

experimental nets:

A low-performance group which includes the

control, the 5%/95% net and the 10%/90% net (the

first percentage indicates the copper wires and the

second the Dyneema® in the twine). The worst

performance was observed for the control

(remaining openness 15.1±4.4%) while the other 2

nets showed 20.2±3.4% and 25.4±4.1% remaining

openness respectively and an average of

20.2±5.15%,

A middle-performance group composed of the

nanomaterial-coated net and the 20%/80% and

40%/60% nets with remaining openness values

39.6±2.4%, 43.7±3.9% and 41.5±6.4%, respectively

and on average 41.6±2.05%

Finally, a group with the best performance with the

net coated with the common TBT-based copper

paint used in Greece. The remaining openness

measured for this net reached 80.2±5.4%. ANOVA

test showed a zero probability that the 3 average

values of remaining openness are equal (P=0;

a=0.05; df=8). In addition, LSD multiple range test

(Fisher's least significant difference) showed 3

distinct groups of the data confirming the qualitative

results of Figure 1.

The equation that describes the relationship

between the copper (Cu%) substitution levels and

the mesh openness (%) followed the quadratic

model y=a+bx+cx2, and was found:

The maximisation of the above equation using

the linear SIMPLEX algorithm showed that the best

results can be obtained with copper substitution of

not more than 29.79% to achieve a maximum mesh

openness of 46.5% after almost 7 months of

constant immersion in the sea and at the same time

use the minimum amount of copper wire in the

twine to achieve this result (Figure 2).

Experimental Period (days)

020 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Mesh oppeness percentage (%)

100

Control

Nano-coat

Cu-coat

10%

20%

40%

Oppeness(%) 5.900 2.725 (Cu%) 0.046 (Cu%)

r 0.980,std. error 3.99%

  

  

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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.59

Alexis Conides, Ilias Kallias,

Efthimia Cotou, Panos Georgiou,

Ioannis Gialamas, Dimitris Klaoudatos

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Fig. 2: Relationship between mesh openness (%)

and copper substitution levels (%).

4 Conclusions

Biofouling is the accumulation of benthic organisms

on a submerged surface affecting many different

sectors of the economy including, inter alia, the

marine aquaculture sector, [22]. The development of

an organic substrate of micro- and macrobenthos on

the immersed surfaces and especially the nets and

ropes has negative effects on the structures by the

decrease of water circulation, the increase of the

forces imposed on the structures from the waves and

currents, [23], [24], the increase of the structural

weight and the increase of the probability of

accidents such as breaking of the nets or ropes or

create openings from which fish may escape, [25],

all of which will have a very high financial cost to

the farm, [22]. Some common antifouling methods

used in marine aquaculture are: a. chemical

antifouling i.e. the use of biocides (copper, zinc, and

tributyltin) or coatings to prevent the growth of

fouling organisms; b. biological antifouling i.e. the

use of natural predators or competitors to control

fouling organisms; c. mechanical antifouling i.e. the

use of mechanical devices to physically remove

fouling organisms (brushes, scrapers, and jet sprays)

and d. use new materials i.e. the manufacture of nets

and ropes using new materials that have inherent

antifouling properties either due to their surface

which prevents fouling organisms to settle or

materials that have biocide characteristics such as

nets made of copper alloy instead of nylon. The

objective of this paper was to follow up on these

approaches through the manufacture of a new twine

for aquaculture nets made of Dyneema® fibers and

copper wire to provide a new solution to the

problem with good antifouling properties and at the

same time a positive cost/benefit ratio and ease of

handling. To fulfil this objective we studied the anti-

fouling performance of fish farm cages made of a

combination of Dyneema® fibers and uncoated

copper wire and at percentages of Dyneema®

substitution equal to 0%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 40%.

Starting with the design of the net material itself

(Dyneema® fibers), several major advantages were

gained: reduced weight, thinner fibers and therefore

less surface for fouling, the requirement for lower

coating amounts (even in the case of TBT-based

anti-fouling paints) and resistance to UV radiation

and abrasion. The partial addition of pure uncoated

copper wire with the Dyneema® fibers, added

strength to the overall net, reduced elasticity i.e.

reduced deformation due to waves and currents, and

increased strength to cuts from fish bites especially

in the case of gilthead seabream, [26]. It is known

that Dyneema® (an UHMWPE) as a material

exhibits 4-5 times more tenacity, 6-8 times less

elongation at break (%) 20% less specific weight,

and zero moisture absorption in comparison to PA,

PES, PP or PE net materials, [27]. In addition it is

15 times stronger than steel and 40% stronger than

Kevlar, [27].

The results on remaining openness showed that

there are 3 distinct groups of nets with minimum

openness ranging between 15.1% for the control net

and 80.2% for the TBT-based copper-coated net.

These results indicate that such nets maintain a

sufficient antifouling potential for a period much

longer than the typical time between net changes

within the frame of a coastal fish farm operation

(normally not more than 1 month). From a

cost/benefit point of view, a twine made of 70%

Dyneema® and 30% of copper fiber shows

optimum antifouling results and cost in terms of the

amount of copper wire used (30%/70%) from the

others, even though its performance is almost half of

the TBT-based coated nets under the same

experimental conditions.

An important observation is the performance of

the nanomaterial-based Cu coating which was

significantly similar to the performance of a 20-40%

Cu/60-80% Dyneema® combined twine nets.

Therefore, if there will be a full ban on the use of

TBT-based coatings and paints in the future, the

nanomaterial coatings are very good candidates for

antifouling means depending on their procurement

cost compared to Cu wire/Dyneema® fiber

combinations. Making some summary calculations

based on an average price of 8.3 € per kilo of copper

Percentage of copper subsitution (%)

510 15 20 25 30 35 40

Mesh oppeness percentage (%)

50 max at 29.79 Cu%

  

  

Oppeness(%) 5.900 2.725 (Cu%) 0.046 (Cu%)

r 0.980,std. error 3.99%

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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.59

Alexis Conides, Ilias Kallias,

Efthimia Cotou, Panos Georgiou,

Ioannis Gialamas, Dimitris Klaoudatos

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

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wire 0.1 mm in diameter (from China) and the

requirement of approximately 150 km of copper

wire to cover a 30% replacement of synthetic fibers

in the net twine (approximately 105 kg), gives an

extra cost of 871.50 € per net (diameter 12 m, depth

11 m) when such net costs between 9000-13000 €

currently in Greece i.e. the copper wire cost extra

charge contribution is approximately 6.7-9.6% per

net.

Acknowledgments:

We would like to thank the Owners, Directors, and

personnel of the BASTIA S.A. fish farming

company operating in the Sagiada area AZA in

North Greece for their help and support in providing

their facilities to use and test the new nets. In

addition, the authors would like to thank the 3

anonymous reviewers of the paper for their

comments and contribution to improving the

content.

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Efthimia Cotou, Panos Georgiou,

Ioannis Gialamas, Dimitris Klaoudatos

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Contribution of Individual Authors to the

Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghost writing

Policy)

-Alexis Conides carried out the net design and was

responsible for the writing of this paper. He was

also the coordinator of the research project which

funded the work herein.

-Efthimia Cotou was responsible for the laboratory

analyses of Cu toxicity and participated in the

writing of the paper.

-Ilias Kallias, Panos Georgiou, and Ioannis

Gialamas were responsible for all fieldwork, sample

handling, and data collection.

-Dimitris Klaoudatos was responsible for the image

analysis work and the proofing of the paper. He

occasionally participated in the fieldwork

Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a

Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself

The data presented in this paper originate from the

research project "COPPERNET - Design and

construction of innovative types of twine suitable

for the construction of fishing and fish farming

materials" (MIS 5021805) coordinated by Dr.

Alexis Conides (Hellenic Centre for Marine

Research, Institute for Marine Biological Resources

and Inland Waters) and co-funded by the Ministry

of Agriculture Development and Food (Greece) and

the EMFF (EU) (2019-2023).

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)

This article is published under the terms of the

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

_US

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.59

Alexis Conides, Ilias Kallias,

Efthimia Cotou, Panos Georgiou,

Ioannis Gialamas, Dimitris Klaoudatos

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

612

Volume 19, 2023