Abalone stock enhancement remains one of the few viable alternatives for increasing the profitability and biomass of a fishery without compromising the current fishery in terms of access or allowable catches. Economically viable stock enhancement could provide the fishery with stock numbers towards virgin levels, thus increasing catch rates and ultimately economic efficiency and profitability. However, there is a need for a project to develop the R&D that will create a commercially viable stock enhancement industry. This is the subject of a current Seafood CRC project (2010/784 - Commercialisation of abalone stock enhancement).

Prior to the commercialisation the industry wants to understand the biosecurity risks of the larger scale stock enhancement project; in other words to weigh up the potential economic gains against biosecurity risks. The recent AVG outbreak in Tasmania highlighted the requirement for industry to be vigilant regarding potential disease vectors.

In order to protect the valuable abalone industry from potential biosecurity threats, there is a need to undertake a risk assessment to quantify raw and residual risks associated with commercialization of abalone stock enhancement. Although being carried out in WA, this risk assessment has national significance to the abalone industry.