Abalone Aquaculture in Korea

The Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai is a commercially valuable species in Korea. The commercial-scale production of the abalone in Korea began in the 2000s. As of 2011, abalone production reached about 7,000 t. The abalone production system in Korea is divided into 2 stages: seed production and rearing. Abalone seeds are produced at about 500 hatcheries, and almost all juveniles are reared using approximately 500,000 sea cages. Furthermore, a project to develop a breeding program for genetic improvement and environmental adaptation is being undertaken.