The absence of reliable performance indicators (PIs) for Australian abalone fisheries has limited stock assessments to an informal, ad hoc review framework, (overly conservative management vs unrealistic optimism from Industry). Without a formal assessment framework based on effective PIs, with target (TRP) and limit reference points (LRPs) combined with clear decision rules, abalone assessment and management will continue to be exposed to decisions prejudiced by opinion rather than fact. Searching for effective PIs for assessing abalone fisheries has continued for years but they remain untested. A need remains to identify an array of informative PIs for abalone fisheries. This requires a re-consideration of PIs (both current and those being developed) and their formal testing in a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) framework. The Tasmanian Abalone Strategic Research Plan gives high priority to research into MSE and the development of TRPs and LRPs. NSW, Victoria, and Tasmania all listed MSE of PIs, LRPs and TRPs, as a high priority at the 2006 National R&D Workshop. South Australia places a high priority on the development of a new management plan for abalone, which requires the development of informative PIs. Most recently, the Draft National Abalone Health Workplan recommends conducting a MSE to compare likely outcomes following the viral outbreak in Western Victoria. Failure to find PIs and management strategies that will operate with different Australian abalone fisheries, constitutes a significant threat to their ongoing sustainability. If ad hoc assessments and their associated risks are to be avoided the debate over PIs needs to stop and the generally accepted method of MSE, needs to be developed for abalone fisheries. Without developing this predictive capacity, stock assessments will remain ad hoc and subject to considerations other than finding the optimum trade off between maximizing the product value while minimizing the risk to sustainability.