Between 2004 and 2007, the European Commission funded a research programme called CRAB — Collective Research on Aquaculture Biofouling — under its Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The project brought together partners from across Europe to study how marine organisms foul aquaculture equipment and what can be done about it.
The original CRAB consortium produced a body of work that remains relevant two decades later: detailed organism profiles, tested management strategies, economic impact assessments, and practical guidelines for farm operators. Much of this knowledge had been locked away in institutional reports and academic journals with limited public access.
This website draws on publicly available scientific literature — including research published by former CRAB participants — to present biofouling information in an accessible, interactive format. The organism database, method comparison tools, and cost calculator are built from open data sources and peer-reviewed publications. This is not an official CRAB Project website and has no affiliation with the original consortium or the European Commission.
The aim is straightforward: make existing biofouling knowledge easier to find and use. The aquaculture industry has grown substantially since the original CRAB research, but the core fouling problems remain the same. A farm operator in Norway dealing with hydroid fouling or a shellfish grower in Ireland managing tunicate settlement can benefit from the same research base, presented through modern tools.