Biofouling is also found in almost all circumstances where water based liquids are in contact with other materials.

Biofouling has strong negative impacts on aquaculture operations.

Governments and industry spend more than US$ 5.7 billion annually to prevent and control marine biofouling.

Sea pineapples live in shallow water, usually attached to rocks and artificial structures, an example of marine biofouling.

Biofouling is often a problem in HVAC systems that operate in warm, dark, and humid environments.

Biofouling is divided into microfouling - biofilm formation and bacterial adhesion - and macrofouling - attachment of larger organisms.

Recently, anti-fouling methods inspired by living organisms have become the subjects of intense research by scientists looking for more environmentally friendly and effective ways of reducing biofouling.

Traditionally, biocides, a chemical substance or microorganism that can control the growth of harmful organisms by chemical or biological means, are used in order to prevent marine biofouling.

Modern empirical study of biofouling got its start in the early 19th century when Humphry Davy performed experiments which linked the effectiveness of copper to the rate at which it could go into solution.

The most effective natural biocide is 3,4-dihydroxybufa-20,22 dienolide, or bufalin (a steroid of toad poison from Bufo vulgaris), which is over 100 times more effective than TBT at preventing biofouling.

The study concluded that although microbial fouling was an issue for the warm surface water heat exchanger, the cold water heat exchanger suffered little or no biofouling and only minimal inorganic fouling.

In 1761 the Royal Navy clad the hull of the frigate HMS Alarm (1758) with copper sheet to reduce the growth of marine biofouling and prevent attack by the Teredo shipworm.

Sponsored and consultancy projects taken up by NIO include Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Coastal Zone Management, Resource Surveys, Biofouling & Corrosion studies, and development of marine instruments.

Biofouling of heat exchange surfaces can reduce heat transfer rates of the cooling system; and biofouling of cooling towers can alter flow distribution to reduce evaporative cooling rates.