World Wildlife Fund

Abalone is a type of mollusc. Abalone flesh is used for food and is considered a delicacy in certain cultures. Its shell, which has an iridescent interior, often is used for decorative purposes. Due to overfishing and poaching, fisheries are not able to meet the market demand for abalone. Abalone aquaculture helps fill this gap. Approximately 70 percent of the abalone consumed globally is produced on farms.

Farming of abalone began in the late 1950s in Japan and China. China has remained the leader in global abalone production. More than 80 percent of farmed abalone is grown in China. However, most of this is consumed domestically. The remaining production comes from South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, Australia, Chile and the United States.

Main impacts of abalone aquaculture
Compared to other farmed seafood species, abalone aquaculture has a relatively low impact on the environment and society. Regardless, the industry does face several challenges. The key impacts related to abalone production are:

1. Farm siting/infrastructure: Unappealing aesthetics, noise, odor and/or dust; limited access to or alienation from public land; habitat destruction and rehabilitation
2. Energy use: Electricity used to run large scale flow-through and re-circulating abalone culture systems
3. Feed inputs: Unsustainable kelp or wild seaweed harvest; fish meal and fish oil content in manufactured feed
4. Biosecurity: Transfer of diseases to and from the wild, within the wild and within aquaculture systems; pathogen amplification; exotics (e.g., translocation of pests and pathogens)
5. Ecosystem effects: Benthic impacts, such as sedimentation and erosion; eutrophication; habitat destruction; and wildlife interactions (e.g., marine mammals/endangered species)
6. Waste management: Effluents (e.g., nutrients, sediment and chemicals), biological waste (e.g., shell, dead animals and sludge disposal) and solid wastes (e.g., plastics, operational equipment and building materials)
7. Social responsibility: Abalone aquaculture sometimes employs a large number of workers on farms and in processing plants, potentially placing labor practices and worker rights under public scrutiny

Our solution
WWF's primary approach to minimizing or eliminating the key impacts associated with abalone aquaculture is to develop measurable, performance-based environmental and social standards for certifying abalone aquaculture producers. This process began in Melbourne, Australia in April 2008, when the first meeting of the Abalone Aquaculture Dialogue was held. Two dozen abalone industry stakeholders – including producers, scientists and NGO staff – met to identify key impacts, principles and criteria. Dialogue participants will meet again, most likely in South Africa, in early 2009.

Principles
Abalone Dialogue participants have identified eight principles that provide the framework for developing the criteria, indicators and standards for responsible abalone farming. The criteria will aim to provide direction on how to reduce each impact and the indicators will address how to measure the extent of each impact. Standards will be quantitative performance levels that evaluate whether a principle is achieved. The principles are:

1. Obey the law and comply with all international, national and local regulations
2. Avoid, remedy, or mitigate negative effects on habitats and biodiversity
3. Maintain the health and genetic fitness of wild populations
4. Manage disease and pests in an environmentally responsible manner
5. Use resources efficiently
6. Be a good neighbor and conscientious coastal citizen
7. Continually review and improve practices
8. Develop and operate farms in a socially responsible manner

Learn more

• Dialogue process guidance document
  English  | Spanish  | French  | Thai
• Abalone Dialogue meeting reports and presentations

Read more about the other aquaculture Dialogues WWF is working on.