Editorial: Impact and Management of Marine Biofouling

Abstract

Biofouling, the accumulation of organisms on wetted surfaces, is a ubiquitous challenge for 12 submerged anthropogenic marine structures that can result in reduced efficiency, increased fuel 13 consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions from vessels. In addition, it causes the weakening and 14 corrosion of maritime infrastructure, detrimental effects to aquaculture, and translocation of harmful 15 non-indigenous species. The impacts of marine non-indigenous species (including macro and micro-16 organisms) on economic, environmental, and socio-cultural values have led to the formation of 17 national and international regulations and guidelines to manage the risks associated with the vessel 18 biofouling pathway. 19 20The objective of this Research Topic was to address the impact and management of marine 21 biofouling towards sustainable transportation and energy, to fill the gaps in the literature, and hence 22 contribute to and update the evidence-based in this field (Figure 1). (Whitworth et al., 2022), and proactive and reactive in-water cleaning 37 technologies (Tamburri et al., 2021;Swain et al., 2022;Ralston et al., 2022). 38The application of new biofouling management strategies for marine vessels, mobiles, and immobile (Arabshahi et al., 2021;Hopkins et al. 2021;Gomez-Banderas et al., 2022;Ralston et al., 2022) to 41 enable evidence-based decisions making (Tamburri et al., 2021;Swain et al., 2022;Gomez-Banderas 42 et al., 2022