Abstract
Biofouling is a severe problem for marine sectors such as shipping, aquaculture and water intake systems. Barnacles, mussels, tubeworms and ascidians are the dominant biofouling organisms which increase the weight or affect the performance of the submerged structures. In this study, biofouling community development on nylon net panels submerged in the central Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia was monitored for a period of one year. Nylon net test panels were submerged in three different depths (2, 5 and 7 m) at two stations for six months during each panel submersion period (winter-spring and summer-autumn). There was a greater abundance of biofouling on panels submerged during winter-spring than in summer-autumn. The abundance of bivalves showed significant differences between panel submersion periods. However, the total biomass of fouling organisms did not show significant variations between panel submersion periods. The fouling organisms such as bivalves, gastropods and ascidians were more abundant on the panels submerged at 2 m with bivalves having a considerable number of individuals also at 5 and 7 m. In conclusion, results of this study indicated that bivalves and ascidians are the important fouling organisms settled on the nylon nets. Hence, suitable management programs targeting these organisms will help to mitigate the problems associated with biofouling on aquaculture cages submerged in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast.