ABSTRACT
Copper and copper compounds have been used for centuries to control the growth of unwanted aquatic organisms. The first recorded use of copper to control marine encrustations on the hulls of ships, for example, occurred during Egyptian times when copper nails and bands were regularly used in the shipbuilding trade. Massey (1973, p. 1) notes that the corrosion resistance of this metal was so effective, many of these articles are still in good condition to the present day. It was not until the 1600s that copper sheathing subsequently became widespread among maritime nations and oceangoing vessels became crudely armored with antifouling copper plating. Since then, copper has been used extensively in the role of an aquatic biocide in both marine and freshwater applications. Copper products have been used to control nuisance or unwanted growths of algae, aquatic plants, and mollusks that act as intermediate hosts for schistosomes. Their major use in the Northern Hemisphere has been for the control of plant growth; in the tropics and subtropics, copper products have been used largely for their molluscicidal properties. This chapter will outline some of the algicidal, herbicidal, and molluscicidal properties of copper, their specific uses in the marine and freshwater environments, and some practical guidelines and precautions governing their application in aquatic situations. For specific information on the use of copper in fungicidal and antifouling capacities, the reader is referred
124 Thornton and Rast
to Chapters 5, 8 and 15, respectively. Chapters 9 and 10 deal with the nutritional aspects of the metal in more depth.
