Industry group advocates for more antifoul choice

With boat owners in Northland reporting that some fouling species are increasingly resistant to antifoul, the New Zealand Marina Operators Association (NZMOA) is advocating for more choice in the market. NZMOA Chair Chris Galbraith writes: 

Marina operators and New Zealand boat owners are facing an increasing challenge in the form of antifoul effectiveness. 

Anecdotally we are now hearing that some vessels are accumulating barnacle growth in a matter of weeks after antifoul application – not only in Auckland but further afield.  

We understand and support the EPA’s 2013 review which removed products harmful to the environment and to human health, which resulted in some products being removed from circulation immediately and others from 2023. 

However, we are very concerned about the lack of viable alternatives making it to the local market, the impact of this on our customers and the potential consequences for the environment. 

We need a choice of safe and effective antifoul products on the market that enable boat owners to maintain their boats and manage biofouling. 

I’ve been closely following developments overseas. By way of example, AkzoNobel’s B-Free and Altex’s Repell products are already delivering excellent results for boat owners overseas, and in local trials. Yet we seem to be stuck in a regulatory holding pattern when it comes to getting them on the market and making them available to customers. 

There are unintended consequences to the lack of access to effective antifoul coatings. When boats foul up faster, they’re cleaned more often, which means more sanding, more antifoul applications, and greater risk of contaminants entering our waters. If boat owners delay, avoid or take short cuts related to maintenance and antifoul application, they are likely to create greater environmental impacts and also be at higher risk of transporting pest species from place to place. 

The system is broken when internationally proven, safer, products are delayed by years of paperwork while older, less effective options remain our only legal choice.

We invite feedback from the industry and we request an urgent review of the antifoul product approval pathway. We must find a way to enable access to products that support both boat owners and the environment.

Boat owner Grant Faber shared these photos of his boat hauled out in Auckland on 12 May just six months after launching with fresh, professionally applied antifoul. The boat was based in Northland for 46 days. He says the rapid barnacle growth underscores the urgent need for new generation antifoul coatings released to the New Zealand market.