farmedabalone

Farmed Abalone

There are four active abalone farms in Tasmania, located in the North West, North, North East and South East. There has been significant reinvestment and growth within the industry, with farms in the North West and South East reopening .

There is an increasing demand for farmed abalone product, potentially as a consequence of decreased supply from wild capture fisheries worldwide. This demand could see further capital investment in the expansion of existing abalone farms, or even the development of new abalone farms in Tasmania.

Economic contribution

To find out more about the Tasmanian Wild Fisheries Assessment, click here

Abalone life cycle

By adjusting the temperature of the water over a period of time you can condition male and female abalone to be ready to reproduce. Abalone are broadcast spawners and their eggs are demersal which means they are heavier than water. When eggs are fertilised it takes about 18-24 hours at about 18 degrees, they hatch into a trochophore.

After about 20 hours the trochophore develops into a Veliger larvae at a similar temperature. During this time they are feeding on a their own egg yolk supplies. After about 6 or more days once they have found a suitable habitat to settle (in a hatchery situation the correct substrate and algae is ideal), they transform into a post larvae. These post larvae feed on diatom cells on large plates in the water until they reach a certain size and then are moved into raceways or grow out tanks.

Different Hatcheries and science have developed different feeding regimes until the abalone reach specific marketable sizes. As with all aquaculture it is important to have excellent water quality.

Click here to watch a video of farmed abalone spawning

Meet your tasmanian abalone producers

Three Friends Abalone
Yumbah Aquaculture
Jade Tiger
Abtas Marketing PTY LTD
Sector organisation: Tasmanian Abalone Growers Association, whose members are also part of the Australian Abalone Growers Association.

How to prepare

The abalone is stuck to its shell by a small muscle about the size of a 50 cent piece.
Hold the shell firmly in the palm of one hand, do not move this hand.
With a sharp knife cut the abalone from the shell, cutting as close to the shell as possible so you don’t lose any meat..
The guts can then be cut out and discarded and the lip removed if desired. While the lip is a little tougher than the rest of the meat, it is still delicious.

recipes

Risotto with abalone
Pan fried abalone
Yumbah recipes
Three friends recipes
Jade Tiger recipes

Abalone fun facts

Tiger abalone, (a hybrid of greenlip and blacklip) is the predominant species grown in Tasmania.
Abalone is farmed in regional seafood communities; Dunalley, Bicheno, Clarence Point and Stanley.
Farmed abalone can live up to forty years, they are sold when they are around 3 years old
Tasmanian farmed abalone injects an estimated $3.7 million into communities.
A female abalone produces one and a half million eggs in each spawn.
Holes in the abalone are called respiratory pores where seawater, sperm, eggs, faeces and urine is excreted.
Males gonads are cream to white and females gonads are green, brown or maroon

Where to purchase tasmanian farmed abalone

Northern Tasmania

Southern Tasmania

Mures Fishing

Online