Marine molluscs of the family Haliotidae, commonly referred to as abalone, are a group of benthic reef species targeted by commercial fisheries in 11 countries, forming an important global industry… Click to show full abstract
Marine molluscs of the family Haliotidae, commonly referred to as abalone, are a group of benthic reef species targeted by commercial fisheries in 11 countries, forming an important global industry worth approximately US $180 million (Gordon and Cook, 2013). Many abalone fisheries have collapsed in recent decades due to overexploitation, environmental change, and disease, with a number of target species now listed as endangered or considered "species of concern" (Hauck and Sweijd, 1999; Leiva and Castilla, 2002; Gruenthal and Burton, 2005; Kashiwada and Taniguchi, 2007). The world's largest thriving abalone fisheries persist in southern Australia which is currently home to a thriving and rapidly growing aquaculture industry making up approximately 10% of Australia's export market. In this region, the abalone species Haliotis rubra (Figure 1A) was targeted in five states extending from Western Australia to southern New South Wales and Tasmania with a net value of US $79 million (Mundy et al., 2014).
               
Click one of the above tabs to view related content.