Abalone Viral Ganglioneuritis (AVG) disease is caused by a herpesvirus (infection with abalone herpesvirus, AbHV) and was first detected in Victoria in December 2005. The last recorded instance of this disease in Victoria was in January 2010 at Cape Otway.

The disease was again confirmed in the Cape Nelson area on 2 May 2021. Since then, further detections have been made at several locations and has been confirmed in Victoria as far east as Cape Otway and as far west as the Discovery Bay Marine Park.

While the virus is active there is a need for the Victorian wild catch abalone fishers to urgently review past research, to inform a gap analysis and further research.

This review will support those involved in the outbreak and inform fellow members nationally with a summary of past research and a way forward with other research for up-to-date biosecurity protocols, surveillance, and diagnostic tools to aid rapid detection to future proof the industry. Relevant industry, government representatives and stakeholders will be kept informed and asked to comment and contribute issues and ideas for a cooperative structured way forward to build a common framework on which to establish a set of key actions and or priorities. At the end of a staged process a workshop will be organised to evaluate and reassess research needs, assess and implement research findings and if further gaps are identified develop a framework to action.

Provide a tactical and strategic response to the recent outbreak. Develop a cost effective assessment tool to validate the spread of the virus and build a long term mechanism to undertake fisheries independent surveys.

Determining the number and size distribution of abalone present at various stages of production is critical information for effective stock management. Currently the Australian abalone aquaculture industry spends in the order of $25,000 per annum, per farm, gathering this information by hand. However, the resulting data is of mediocre quality, is limited in its scope, and collecting the data causes stress to the animals (as it is removed from the water) which can compromise growth and survival. Automated counting and measuring of abalone will increase farm efficiency and productivity in the short term and, in the longer term, will provide an advanced platform for further R & D improvements including accurate data collection during experimental trials (e.g. feeds, temperature). Artificial intelligence and machine learning has now matured to a point that accurately counting and measuring abalone is possible using this approach, however specific application to the abalone industry is yet to be achieved. This project would involve the development, training and validation of a machine learning model to identify, segment and measure quantitative abalone traits in production systems and, render the product data to be accessible and applicable for farmers.

AVG remains the greatest threat to the economic viability and stability of the abalone industry in south-eastern Australia. As a consequence, there is an urgent need for strategic research aimed at determining the likely vulnerability of fisheries to future AVG outbreaks and providing managers with the necessary tools for biosecuring wild and farmed stocks at regional, state and national scales.

The fact that some animals from AVG affected wild stocks survived the disease outbreak suggests they were either fortunate enough to have avoided coming into contact with the virus or are genetically resistant to the disease. A research program aimed at characterising AVG resistance in Australian wild abalone fisheries is expected to provide benefits to wild and farm fisheries at a national scale. If AVG resistance is present in wild abalone stocks, and its genetic basis can be characterised, there will be unique opportunities to:

1) Rapidly and cost-effectively screen stocks across all wild fisheries to determine the spatial prevalence of resistant genotypes and to gain an understanding of how biosecure wild abalone stocks are likely to be in the event of AVG re-emergence
2) Biosecure wild stocks through the movement of animals from ‘AVG resistant’ to ‘AVG vulnerable’ stocks as part of future restocking and translocation activities
3) Biosecure farm stocks across all states of Australia through the establishment of an AVG resistance breeding program

This project involves a direct partnership with AAGA, ACA and VFA and is expected to provide much needed insights into the vulnerability of abalone stocks to future AVG outbreaks, and the tools needed to bolster the biosecurity of wild and farmed abalone stocks. As a result, this project has the potential to dramatically improve the economic viability of this rapidly expanding industry.