ABALONE AQUACULTURE

ABALONE AQUACULTURE
								The abalone has proven to be a relatively easily cultured shellfish.Methods to induce spawning, carry hatched larvae through their brief swimming period, culture postlarvae and juveniles, and finally rear young to adulthood, have been well worked out.  Readily available accounts are to be found in Hahn 1989 and Leighton 2000.  Initial efforts to cultivate abalone were done in Japan (Ino 1952) and a major program to seed juveniles in the ocean was underway by the early 1970s.  Buzz Owen and his associates at the Pacific Mariculture shellfish hatchery at Pigeon Point near San Francisco, was successful in cultivating the red abalone and several hybrid combinations with other California abalone species (Owen et al. 1971).  Private entrepreneurs in California, including the author, with plans to rear juveniles to market size adults in land-based tank systems began operations in 1968 (The Cayucos Abalone Farm; Leighton 1989, 2000).  By the mid-1980s there were six abalone farms in California and ten years later several more in Mexico.  At this writing, with the closure of the abalone fishery, farmed abalone, or wild-caught abalone imported from other countries, are the only legal sources of abalone served in local restaurants. While seven species a one subspecies of abalones are native to California, two have been subjects of commercial aquaculture:  the red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, and the green abalone (abulon azul in Mexico), Haliotis fulgens.  The pink abalone (abulon amarillo), Haliotis corrugata, has been cultured on a small scale, but its growth rate is usually slow and it has not been considered seriously as an aquaculture crop.  The red abalone is a cold water abalone, while the green is a warm water species.  Consequently most hatcheries in Southern California have concentrated on the green and those north of Point Conception have dealt almost exclusively with the red abalone.  We at the Carlsbad Aquafarm cultivate the green abalone and hybrid Red x Green abalone.  Pure red abalone do not tolerate the high summer water temperatures (22-25oC) there, but the hybrids do quite well.

Abalone Aquaculture 

The California red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, is a species of very large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones, ormer shells or paua.

Abalone is a highly prized gourmet shellfish, sought after for its delicate flavor and beautiful shell. The abalone shell, with its exquisite multifaceted mother-of-pearl color and reflective nature is used to create naturally beautiful jewelry.

The California Red Abalone was once so common on the U.S. West Coast that they were easily collected from the rocks exposed at low tide. Now our native wild red abalone is endangered. Pollution and increasing demand from the world market lead to near extinction of the species. Abalone aquaculture offers a legal and sustainable source for this product.

Abalone farming is a sustainable aqua culture system that, when done correctly, leaves little or no negative environmental effects. Natural, healthy ocean water and kelp are the main ingredients. Unlike some aqua culture, growing abalone has little or no environmental impact because they eat fast-growing kelp, which regrows quickly upon harvest.

Abalone grow slowly. It takes a minimum of three years to grow Haliotis rufescens or "red" abalone, one of the seven breeds native to California, to market size. Only 35 to 40 percent of the total weight of an abalone is edible. The rest is mostly shell. But of that edible part, some 65 percent is protein. Other nutrients include selenium, magnesium and iron, and some omega-3 fats.

We select our largest abalone for brood stock. Abalone are broadcast spawners which means they spawn like fish. The eggs and sperm are released into the water where fertilization occurs. The baby abalone hatch from tiny microscopic eggs in only 24 hours and are barely visible to the naked eye. In the photo on the right, what looks like algae are huge numbers of baby abalone in a nursery tank.

Baby abalone eat algae which give the shells a green tint. When the abalone have grown to about an inch, they are transferred from the nursery tanks to large, comfortably dark tanks where they will feast on fresh kelp which adds bands of soft red color to the shell. Abalone are nocturnal and our cave like tanks of clean ocean water allow them to feel safe as they graze on fresh kelp. Here at American Abalone Farms, we provide the abalone an environment which is close to nature, minus the predators.

(Click to enlarge photo)

Mature abalone in a holding tank, ready for market (Click to enlarge photo)	The foot of the abalone is a prized delicacy
Tenderized abalone steaks are shipped worldwide (Click to enlarge photo)	The Pacific Ocean and backyard beach (Click to enlarge photo)

American Abalone's California red abalone is as good as farmed seafood can get!

Abalone Tours

Abalone Tours in Hermanus

Abalone farming is a massive industry in South Africa and in particular in Hermanus where there are two main Abalone Farms providing much of the employment in the area as well as discouraging the poaching of Abalone which was a massive industry in the past.
The sale of Abalone to the Asian markets offers a good income for Hermanus, however, with very strict licensing only registered Abalone Farms may sell and export to these viable markets where

Abalone are a sought after delicacy.
The Abalone are bred and managed from fertility through to the adulthood, when they’ve reached maturity (approx 4 years) they are sold either live, canned or frozen to the Asian markets.
Abalone Tours offer visitors from around the world the opportunity to see the growth stages of these delicacies through to the final distribution stage in the farm environment. It also offers potential abalone buyers from the Asian countries the opportunity to see first hand the love and attention given to the health and well being of the Abalone from inception to adulthood.






Abalone Tours organised for you, by us at Livesey Lodge Guest House. Please mention when booking your accommodation at Livesey Lodge of your intention to take an Abalone Tours and we will be sure to make enquiries and book the Abalone Tours on your behalf.
When visiting Hermanus, we highly recommend Abalone Tours to fully appreciate all that this interesting town has to offer.

HIK Abalone Farm (Pty) Ltd

In today’s competitive climate it is essential that aquaculture companies remain at the forefront of product development, meeting increasing global demand for quality cultured products and maintaining the highest industry standards. HIK Abalone Farm (Pty) Ltd and its Group Companies are committed to exceeding industry standards through the continued evaluation of candidate aquaculture species and the adoption of best-practice environmental policies.


Abalone farmer extraordinaire, talks to Denene Erasmus about farming these sought after sea delicacies.


A few decades ago the only option for someone with a passion for farming and the ocean would have been to buy a farm near the sea or go on a beach holiday when the harvest was in, but this is no longer the case. With rising global demand for fish and seafood products, the aquaculture and mariculture industries are expanding quickly.

Adri Claassen, winner of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ award for Top Female Farmer Entrepreneur Exporter in the Western Cape has found her vocation, working on one of South Africa’s foremost abalone farms based in Hermanus.

A career in mariculture
Adri, who grew up on a tobacco farm, welcomed the opportunity to get involved in abalone farming which allowed her to pursue her twin passions for marine life and farming. “I started in 2003 as an assistant hatchery manager and became hatchery manager in 2005. In 2008 I was promoted to production manager and in 2010 I became the operational manager of the farm,” she explains.

Adri works for Aquafarm Development (Pty) Ltd, an abalone farm in Hermanus which forms part of the TerraSan group of companies. The farm takes up 1,85ha of land, bordering the ocean, in the new harbour area of this tourist town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape. Staff there boast that they have one of the most remarkable views in the world.

And, during the whale season, Adri can spend her coffee breaks at the water’s edge doing a bit of whale watching. Adri’s enthusiasm is not only for the wide blue Atlantic that serves as the water source for the farming operation, but also for the strange creatures she farms. During a tour of the abalone farm she is keen to share her knowledge of these animals and often draws attention to the unique beauty of the large marine molluscs.

Farming with Abalone
Adri explains that the abalone hatchery is divided into four specialised departments: the broodstock, larvae, settlement and weaning areas. “Brood animals, (broodstock), are selected for their superior appearance and performance characteristics and are housed in a tightly managed environment which maintains them in spawning condition year-round. They are cleaned and fed fresh kelp twice a week,” she says.

Broodstock is divided into different spawning groups, with each group spawned at six-week intervals. The males and females are separated and spawned eggs and sperm are collected and mixed manually in a set ratio to aid good fertilisation. Within a day of fertilisation, a free-swimming larva emerges from the egg membrane. These microscopic, yolk-nourished larvae are housed in filtered seawater tanks, and allowed to develop for six to seven days during which time they are monitored daily.

“After about a week the larvae have developed feeding mouthparts and a foot with which they attach to the substrate. At this stage they are transferred into settlement tanks, and presented with a select diet of micro-algae (diatoms), grown on polycarbonate plates. “As the larvae start grazing on the food source, they will attach to the plates, lose the ability to swim, and metamorphose into perfect baby abalone called spat,” says Adri.

Spat remain on these plates for the next three months during which time they deplete the micro-algae. At this stage the spat should be between 3mm and 5mm long. Prior to moving them the water is dosed with magnesium sulphate. This relaxes the muscular foot, clamped onto the substrate, and enables workers to move them easily without injuring them. They are size sorted and transferred into the weaning tanks.

“Once here, the spat are slowly taken off the micro-algae diet and introduced to a formulated diet called Abfeed,” she says.
Abfeed is a cost-effective, dry feed, manufactured by Marifeed in Hermanus, that improves abalone growth rates. In the weaning tanks the spat, tended by dedicated workers, quickly adapt to the new environment and diet. For the next three months they grow out rapidly, to a length of approximately 10mm, says Adri. Now the spat are big and hardy enough to handle the growout environment.

The water is dosed again, the abalone removed from the substrate, size sorted and transferred to the growout platform where they are placed in baskets in the tanks. “Once here, abalone takes about three to four years to grow to a marketable size. During this time they are fed size-graduated Abfeed pellets. At regular intervals their growth is checked and the data entered into a database that allows Adri to track the performance of each batch.

Health and hygiene is very important as abalone are sensitive to compromised environments. The tanks holding the baskets are cleaned once a week and water supply and removal infrastructure is cleaned once a month. A vet samples the molluscs in a regular health monitoring programme and the SABS tests the product to ensure that it is of an acceptably high quality.

Production costs and marketing
“We harvest the abalone at weights ranging from 30g to 250g depending on market demands,” Adri says. The farm, which produces between 70t and 80t of abalone per year, has shares in a processing facility. About half the abalone produced on the farm is exported live, the other half is canned or dried.

“All the abalone we produce is exported to the Far East. Hong Kong is our largest market and accounts for about 60% of sales while Japan and Taiwan buy about 20% of our stock each,” she says. Adri explains that production costs are high. Abalone farming is labour intensive and about 85 people are employed on Aquafarm.

Water must be continuously pumped ashore to keep the abalone in good health which makes electricity consumption high. Another factor that affects profit margins is the volatility of the rand/dollar exchange rate, since the product is sold in dollars.
She is not keen to discuss prices but says that farmers can get between US$35 (R278)/kg to UD$45 (R357)/ kg, depending on the size and quality of the product.

Future outlook
Projected plans for the farm include implementing cost-saving changes and farming with an emphasis on renewable energy.
The feasibility of a turbine to generate electricity by harnessing the energy of water flowing back into the sea is being investigated.  The possibility of using solar power is also being considered. As far as her own plans for the future are concerned, Adri seems happy where she is, and rightfully so. With her career path already lined with achievements, she is content to work towards improving the profitability and productivity of this enterprise.

ABALONE FARMING KEY TO FUTURE GROWTH OF AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY IN SA
6 March 2013: Abalone farming in South Africa is becoming increasingly important in protecting the abalone species, as well as establishing the basis for the future development of the national aquaculture industry. This is according to Rudi van Niekerk, Investment Advisor at Agri-Vie, the Sub-Saharan private equity fund investing in food and agribusiness, and a principal shareholder in HIK Abalone Farms, who explains that investments into sustainable abalone projects are vital to saving the endangered species and alleviating the pressure on global natural fish resources. Louise Jansen, Executive Director at HIK Abalone Farm, says that the last two decades have seen phenomenal increases in the amount of cultured abalone product entering the markets, particularly Asia. “In South Africa alone, abalone production from aquaculture facilities has increased from zero in the 1990’s to an estimated current level of approximately 1,200 tons, making South Africa one the biggest producers of abalone outside of Asia. Most farms are expanding production and the industry is set to grow to at least 5,000 tons in the next 10 years.” “However, it is estimated that through illegal poaching some populations of wild abalone are being obliterated overnight. It takes between four to five years before abalone reaches commercial sizes, and because no size uniformity for stocks is enforced, harvested abalone that has not yet reached sexual maturity creates a situation where an ever widening generation gap develops. The inevitable result is that wild South African abalone will be extinct within the next few years,” Jansen says. She adds, “Due to the decreasing stocks of the local wild species of abalone through ignorance or illegal harvesting, and the difficulties in policing illegal poaching, land-based pump-ashore aquaculture farms were established to meet demand and to prevent the species from extinction.” Jansen explains an abalone farm can operate successfully with virtually no impact on the natural environment. “Abalone farms require specific permits and need to adhere to specific permit conditions in order to operate in South Africa. The abalone is managed under tightly controlled conditions, resulting in a consistent and high quality product with emphasis on ensuring abalone and human health.” Van Niekerk adds that the South African government is focused on making the aquaculture industry as sustainable as possible. “By partnering with HIK, Agri-Vie not only brings additional skills to the business, but also much needed expansion capital. HIK has identified several exciting expansion opportunities in both abalone farming and fish farming. Agri-Vie’s capital support of these initiatives plays an important role in developing and growing aquaculture as a business sector in a sustainable manner that meets the government’s requirements.” He says that as natural fish resources are under pressure and are in decline, aquaculture is increasingly becoming one of the most important providers of protein to the rapidly increasing population. “Our vision is to expand aquaculture activities in a way that creates jobs, relieves pressure on natural fish resources, contributes to food security and is profitable in order to be sustainable,” says van Niekerk. Based on the HIK initiative, Agri-Vie won the Agribusiness Investment Initiative of the Year award at the African Investor Agribusiness Investment Awards 2012, held in December 2012.

Aquaculture farms can help protect endangered abalone

 

INVESTMENT in sustainable abalone projects is vital to saving the endangered species and easing the pressure on global fish resources, says Rudi van Niekerk, investment adviser at Agri-Vie, the sub-Saharan food and agribusiness private equity fund.
In a bid to protect abalone from overfishing due to Asian market demands, the government is encouraging abalone farming as part of the development of South Africa’s aquaculture industry.
Agri-Vie is a principal shareholder in HIK Abalone Farm, located in Hermanus in the Western Cape.
It is estimated that illegal poaching is obliterating some populations of wild abalone overnight. It takes four to five years before abalone grows to commercial harvest size, but experts warn that because size uniformity for stocks is not enforced, harvested abalone that has not yet reached sexual maturity is creating an ever-widening generation gap.
As a result, wild South African abalone could be extinct within the next few years.
A discussion document on South Africa’s fisheries released on Monday revealed little economic analysis had been done on the size of the country’s fishing markets over the past decade.
In the document, Statistics South Africa noted that the country’s fishing industry was well established, but it "faces challenges in its ability to ensure the sustainable use of the fisheries as a resource".
The findings were that South Africa had an estimated 572,000 tons of hake available for exploitation in 2011, the highest tonnage since 2000. It was estimated that 123,000 tons of hake had been caught in 2011. Hake is South Africa’s most lucrative exportable fishing species.
Threatened fish stocks include deep-water hake, sharks (optimal to depleted), west and south coast rock lobster, tuna (abundant to depleted), tuna (abundant to heavily depleted) and abalone.
Louise Jansen, executive director at HIK Abalone Farm, said that due to the decreasing stocks of local wild abalone through illegal harvesting and the difficulties in policing illegal poaching, "land-based, pump-ashore aquaculture farms were established to meet demand and to prevent the species from extinction".
She said the past two decades had seen phenomenal increases in the quantity of cultured abalone products entering global markets, particularly in Asia.
"In South Africa alone, abalone production from aquaculture facilities has increased from zero in the 1990s to an estimated current level of approximately 1,200 tons, making South Africa one the biggest producers of abalone outside of Asia," she said. "Most farms are expanding production and the industry is set to grow to at least 5,000 tons in the next 10 years."
Abalone farms require specific permits and need to adhere to specific permit conditions to operate in South Africa.
Ms Jansen said an abalone farm could operate with virtually no effect on the natural environment. "The abalone is managed under tightly controlled conditions, resulting in a consistent and high-quality product with emphasis on ensuring abalone and human health."
Mr van Niekerk said the government was focusing on making the aquaculture industry as sustainable as possible. He said that as natural fish resources were under pressure and in decline, aquaculture was increasingly becoming an important way of providing protein to a growing population.
He said Agri-Vie had partnered with HIK to bring additional skills and expansion capital to the business. HIK has identified expansion opportunities in both abalone farming and fish farming.
"Agri-Vie’s capital support of these initiatives plays an important role in developing and growing aquaculture as a business sector in a sustainable manner that meets the government’s requirements," he said.