RESUMEN
Marine biofouling constitutes a major worldwide technical and economic problem. International regulations concerning the protection of both the environment and industrial workers have prompted paint manufacturers and end users to look for suitable replacements for traditional antifouling (AF) pigments. For this reason, the potential AF activity of potassium sorbate (KS) on nauplii and cyprids of Balanus amphitrite was tested in laboratory and field trials. Larval bioassays demonstrated a marked inhibitory and reversible effect. The values obtained for EC(50) and LC(50) were 9.91 mM and 36.73 mM, respectively, and the therapeutic ratio was 3.71, indicating that KS acts via a non-toxic mechanism. After 60 days in the sea, a varnish coating incorporating KS showed a substantial decrease in micro- and macrofouling density and diversity. This investigation indicated that KS is a promising AF agent for replacing the traditional toxic compounds.