Final report
The Australian wild abalone industry contributes $200 million annually to the national economy and directly employs an estimated 1,650 people across 5 States (NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia). Over 99 percent of production is exported, primarily to north East Asia. It is a valuable native resource, increasingly so as world competitor fisheries decline from overfishing.
This Review has been commissioned by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation to provide independent advice on the industry's current and strategic Research and Development directions, and the human, economic, technology and marketing infrastructure required to better manage the abalone resource. The Corporation intends to use the findings of the study as a base for making decisions in relation to the allocation of funds for abalone research and development over the next 3-5 years.