A national framework being developed for Abalone stock enhancement will pave the way for well-governed and sustainable enhancement programs across Australia. 

The Abalone industry is among Australia’s most valuable and culturally significant fisheries, supporting Indigenous, commercial and recreational harvests across multiple jurisdictions. With pressures from changing ocean conditions, fishing and habitat impacts, interest in stock enhancement is steadily growing.

Following discussions at the Abalone Council of Australia (ACA) 2019 Abalone Assessment and Management Workshop, the industry recognised the need for a coordinated review of enhancement practice and policy.  

This led to FRDC Project 2019-110, which provides a comprehensive evaluation of abalone stock enhancement, including Blacklip Abalone (Haliotis rubra) and Greenlip Abalone (Haliotis laevigata).  

The project assesses past enhancement and restocking efforts, reviews current policies in each jurisdiction, and provides a national framework to guide future work.

From workshop ideas to national assessment

Stock enhancement and restocking has been trialled in abalone fisheries for decades, from releasing hatchery-reared juveniles into the wild. Despite the number of research projects conducted, none have progressed to commercial-scale enhancement within wild fisheries.

“The knowledge and technical capacity for abalone enhancement are here in Australia, and we’re further advanced than people may realise,” explains Project lead Dr Lachlan Strain from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Western Australia (DPIRD WA).  

“However, the policy environment hasn’t kept pace. Without clear and consistent governance, enhancement remains stuck at the research trial stage.”

The review uses internationally recognised benchmarks, including the Responsible Approach to Marine Stock Enhancement to evaluate Australian initiatives. Each jurisdiction is assessed against best-practice criteria such as ecological risk management, genetic safeguards, monitoring frameworks, and stakeholder involvement. 

Strong capability, fragmented policy  

The study finds that while Australia has developed world-class hatchery and enhancement expertise, policy settings differ across states. Some jurisdictions have developed guidelines that align well with best practice, while others lack abalone-specific frameworks or mechanisms to integrate enhancement into fisheries management.

“There’s a high degree of variability,” says Lachlan. “One jurisdiction might have excellent science but limited policy development or another good policy but little operational capacity. What’s been missing is a national approach to bring these elements together.”

A national framework  

The project developed a national framework to address this gap. It outlines the governance structures, ecological safeguards and monitoring requirements needed to ensure enhancement programs contribute to both ecological sustainability and economic resilience:

• Governance – roles, responsibilities and decision-making structures
• Ecological safeguards – managing genetic, ecological and biosecurity risks
• Monitoring and evaluation – ensuring enhancement outcomes are measurable and adaptive
• Stakeholder involvement – engaging fishers, industry and communities in planning and oversight.

The framework is versatile, allowing any jurisdiction to adapt it to local conditions while ensuring consistency with best practice.

Towards commercial-scale enhancement

The report found commercial-scale enhancement is feasible, at least from a biological and technical perspective. Australian researchers and industry partners have successfully produced, seeded and monitored hatchery-reared abalone at scale that could support fisheries recovery or increase productivity.

What remains is creating the policy environment to enable it. Clearer guidelines on issues such as intellectual property, cost-sharing, monitoring responsibilities and long-term governance are needed before large-scale programs can proceed.

Importantly, the framework is not limited to Abalone. The principles and structures developed here could be applied to other species where stock enhancement is being considered, offering broader value for Australian fisheries management.

As with any enhancement activity, risks must be carefully managed. These include genetic risks from mixing populations, ecological impacts on habitats and non-target species and economic risks if programs fail to deliver expected returns.

Transparent governance and strong stakeholder involvement are essential to maintain trust and support. Despite the challenges, there are significant opportunities to rebuild depleted stocks, improve fishery resilience in the face of climate change and create new economic opportunities for regional communities. 

Seeding the future  

By consolidating decades of research, aligning jurisdictions to international best practice, and creating a national policy framework, this project marks a critical step towards turning interest in Abalone stock enhancement into real-world outcomes.

As the ACA and governments consider next steps, the findings provide a way for enhancement to move from research trials to practical, well-governed programs that strengthen Australia’s Abalone fisheries for the future.

“Abalone comprise nationally significant fisheries, and this framework provides the clarity and consistency we need to consider enhancement as a tool to complement fisheries management,” says Dean Lisson, Executive Officer of the ACA.  

“This work assists jurisdictions by bringing together the considerable body of research on abalone enhancement in an applied way, which benefits both the fishery and the communities who rely on it.”