5 results
Industry

Towards understanding greenlip abalone population structure

Project number: 2010-013
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $447,515.00
Principal Investigator: Stephen Mayfield
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 31 Jul 2010 - 30 Aug 2012
:

Need

The principal need is to enhance understanding of greenlip abalone population genetic structure, and the degree to which nearby populations are connected, in order to optimally manage exploitation of commercial greenlip reef systems. Greenlip abalone support valuable fisheries across southern Australia. Total catch is >700 t with a landed value of ~$27M. Most of the catch is harvested in SA.

The majority of abalone-related funding has addressed research needs for blacklip abalone. This research has focussed on stock structure and dynamics, developing assessment and management approaches to overcome spatial complexity, and stock rebuilding strategies. Recent projects (FRDC 2004/019, 2005/024, 2005/029), have clearly demonstrated that (1) blacklip abalone populations are effectively isolated from conspecifics at fine spatial scales (Miller et al. 2009), and (2) each has typically variable life-history parameters (e.g. growth rates) that influence productivity and response to fishing.

Historically little effort has been directed towards understanding variation or interconnectedness among greenlip abalone populations. Connectivity among greenlip abalone populations is expected to be substantially different to that observed for blacklip abalone, due, in part, to environmental differences (current, swell, kelp) in reef systems they inhabit. However, there are few data to support this assertion. If, as expected, patterns of connectivity among greenlip populations differ from blacklip abalone, this will require a different approach and different scales of management and assessment.

Understanding greenlip abalone population structure is clearly a high priority in SA, Tas and WA. Development of improved techniques for assessment, definition of metapopulation boundaries and reducing the spatial scale of management are high research priorities of the SA abalone Management Plan. Investment Platform 3 in the ACA Strategic Plan similarly has developing harvest models that incorporate fine-scale fishery management to guide harvest practices and optimise yield as a research priority.

Literature cited:
Miller et al. 2009. Mol Ecol, 18:200-211

Objectives

1. Quantify greenlip abalone population genetic structure within key fishing areas.
2. Assess genetic connectivity within and among greenlip abalone populations in key fishing areas.

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-921563-55-3
Author: Stephen Mayfield

Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram: selective breeding of farmed abalone to enhance growth rates

Project number: 2001-254
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $286,881.10
Principal Investigator: Xiaoxu Li
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 2 Feb 2002 - 30 Jun 2008
:

Need

A major problem facing abalone farmers in temperate Australia is the high operating costs associated with holding animals for 4 years until they reach market size. In other shellfish, selective breeding has substantially, and in some cases radically improved a number of traits (particularly growth rate and disease resistance). The existing selective breeding project was funded for 18 months and will finish in November 2001. This can be regarded as a step-up towards establishing selectively bred stock. In this project a protocol manual was produced, technical officers trained, and families established is SA and Victoria., A business model was developed for the future commercialisation of stocks. The industry and subprogram are confident that the selected model for establishing families on-farm where the onus is on industry to maintain families is a successful one. Consequently, the renewal of the current project has been approved for continuation by the Abalone Aquaculture Steering committee.

An appropriately designed selective breeding program could produce abalone with growth rates enhanced by up to 30% over 3 generations of selection (6-8 years). This could shorten the production cycle by over a year, and thus substantially reduce farm operating costs.

With the continuing enthusiasm for abalone aquaculture both on-shore across southern Australia, as well as developing in northern Australia, significant growth of the industry can be expected. Within the next decade it is possible that abalone aquaculture production will exceed the wild fishery in value.

Objectives

1. Establish new families.
2. Continue to maintain established families.
3. Upgrade the managing system for easy maintenance, easy cross-reference, protection of the privacy of individual farms.
4. Collect data and determine genetic parameters for traits of economic importance and their correlations.
5. Develop, respectively, the selection indexes for both greenlip and blacklip abalone with the data available (the indexes will be used for selecting improved broodstock for commercial production and production of the next generation).

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-921563-01-0
Author: Xiaoxu Li

Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram: selective breeding of farmed abalone to enhance growth rates

Project number: 2000-201
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $153,321.00
Principal Investigator: Xiaoxu Li
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 29 Jun 2000 - 13 Aug 2004
:

Need

A major problem facing abalone farmers in temperate Australia is the high operating costs associated with holding animals for 4 years until they reach market size. In other shellfish, selective breeding has substantially improved a number of traits (particularly growth rates & disease resistance), however no such program exists for abalone. An appropriately designed selective breeding program could produce abalone with growth rates enhanced by up to 30% over 3 generations of selection (6--8 years). This could shorten the production cycle by over a year, and thus substantially reduce farm operating costs.

With the continuing enthusiasm for abalone aquaculture both on-shore and off-shore across southern Australia, as well as developing in northern Australia, significant growth of the industry can be expected. Within the next decade it is possible that abalone aquaculture production will exceed the wild fishery in value.

(For FRAB Information repeated from Background)
How the Priority was determined –

The FRDC Board will remember that last year large, high cost approach was submitted that attempted to integrate all aspects of genetic development across all states. The FRDC Board rightly indicated that this was an expensive approach and concern was expressed at the time that all parties had not been properly integrated into the application. The FRDC Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram Steering Committee re-determined the critical R&D priorities with regards to development of a genetic improvement program for the abalone farming industry. The output was a defined plan that had 3 critical areas that needed to be developed. These were:

1) Development of a practical selective breeding protocol
2) Development of a R&D Genetic Business Plan
3) Commence the establishment of on-farm family lines and data collection

An expression of interest was called by the Steering Committee that addressed these three key research areas, for a set budget (approximately $130k), was national in its approach and for no more that 18 months. The application was seen as part of an ongoing research program that was to be established in abalone genetic breeding, with these three areas needing to be addressed before the next stage could commence. It also took advantage of the capacity of the industry to manage on farm selection both technically and physically.

Objectives

1. To develop a practical selective breeding protocol for commercially desirable traits in abalone
2. To develop a genetic evaluation system
3. To develop a R&D genetic business plan
4. To establish and maintain desired number of abalone family lines in each state participating

Final report