Antifouling textile materials comprising polymeric coatings and enzymes

The present invention relates to textile materials endowed with antifouling activity against organisms responsible for the biofouling of surfaces immersed in aquatic environments such as bacteria, protozoa, algae and invertebrates. More specifically, the object of the invention is a textile material in the form of yarn, net, woven, knitted and nonwoven fabrics that during its use has to remain submerged under sea water for variable lengths of time. Typical but not exclusive examples relevant for the invention are ropes, aquaculture nets, cover materials and other culture bags. In particular, the present invention relates to a textile material endowed with antifouling properties, as obtainable by coating at least one side of a textile support with at least one layer of an antifouling composition containing a cross-linkable polymer, drying the said antifouling composition on the said textile support and subjecting the said antifouling composition to cross-linking conditions, wherein the said antifouling composition comprises an antifouling effective amount of at least one hydrolase enzyme.