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Blacklip Abalone
Latin name: Haliotis rubra
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Wild Caught
Region:
TAS
- Abalone are hand-gathered by divers using hookah (air hose connected to a compressor), snorkel and scuba.
- Abalone populations in Tasmania are made up of many small, independent populations. Some appear healthy, while others appear to be declining.
- The fishing method is low impact and has no bycatch or discards.
- Despite anecdotal reports, research indicated that the removal of abalone through fishing is not likely to have an impact on habitat.
- Management has introduced welcome spatial closures to protect against overfishing and climate impacts.
- There are not many protections like Marine Protected Areas present to help with resilience.
- Tasmanian Abalone Fishery (661t in 2024)
Abalone are found on inshore kelp forest reefs on southern coastlines. They serve an important ecological role as a grazing herbivore and prey item for a range of coastal species.
Research into the population status of abalone populations indicates that they are likely made up of many small, independent populations along the southern coast of Australia. Regional studies suggest that some areas have healthy populations, while other areas are depleted and overfished, resulting in a patchwork of stock status.
Since our last assessment in 2021, the northern zone appears to be recovering though still overfished, and catches in the eastern zone have been stable over recent years. The Bass Strait zone appears to be healthy, with stable catches. There are concerns this population may be subject to overfishing and the fishery will require careful management to avoid a downgraded GoodFish ranking in future.
Many blacklip abalone stocks are declining because abalone are highly susceptible to a range of climate impacts like marine heatwaves, habitat loss and invasive species. These issues are likely to impact habitat in eastern areas, where loss of reef kelp forests is also a concern for the rock lobster fishery. Management should incorporate monitoring and management of environmental impacts more explicitly in the fishery.
Abalone are hand-collected by divers. There is no bycatch, but there is some anecdotal evidence of impacts on seafloor habitats where abalone has been overfished.
