Genetic Parameter Estimates for Growth, Meat Yield and Foot Color Traits of Pacific Abalone Haliotis discus hannai

This study was designed to evaluate the genetic parameters of growth, meat yield and foot color in Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) to support the development of a quality-oriented breeding program. Using data from 141 pedigreed full-sib families, heritabilities and genetic correlations among these traits were estimated. The results indicated that shell length at varying ages (0.45–0.71) and total wet weight (0.48) exhibited moderate-to-high heritabilities, suggesting substantial potential for genetic improvement in growth traits. The heritabilities for foot color (0.26) and meat weight (0.31) were moderate and statistically significant (p < 0.05), whereas the heritability for meat yield (0.14) was low and not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Strong positive genetic correlations were observed between shell length and total wet weight at harvest (0.90), as well as between total wet weight and meat weight at harvest (0.92). In contrast, the genetic correlations between total wet weight and foot color, and between total wet weight and meat yield, were low and not statistically significant (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that direct selection can effectively improve the growth and meat weight of Pacific abalone. However, improving foot color and meat yield may require independent or multi-trait selection approaches. Overall, this study provides crucial data for formulating a comprehensive breeding strategy that integrates both production efficiency and product quality in Pacific abalone aquaculture.