Following the AVG virus, the number of broodstock that were available to produce hybrids was drastically reduced. This project was undertaken in order to ascertain the genetic diversity present within farm held broodstock of greenlip and blacklip abalone and to determine the degree of genetic differentiation of stocks within and between farms. A genetic audit of farm held stocks enables farmers to gain an understanding of the genetic resources held across the industry.

 

This report provides a genetic audit of farm held stocks of greenlip and blacklip abalone from six Australian farms across three states. Thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to calculate genetic diversity, genetic differentiation, effective population size and relatedness within and between farms and are reported for each species. A mate allocation plan is also presented which optimises the available genetic resources across farms in order to minimise kinship. The audit was carried out in 2016 and 2017 by Associate Professor Jan Strugnell and Dr Catarina Silva based within the Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture at James Cook University, Australia.