Ocean Grown Abalone has been running a pilot project to farm green lip abalone on a 40 hectare site in Flinders Bay, Australia since 2011. The group headed by former abalone diver Brad Adams aims to treble the farms size to increase production and become commercially viable to serve Asia’s lucrative abalone market. The group is seeking $8 million in order to complete the $16 million expansion. Under the proposal juvenile abalone will be bred in hatcheries and then planted on artificial reefs in Flinders Bay where they will grow for two to three years until they are harvested. The Abalone Association of Western Australia is against the project moving forward claiming that it would pose a risk of bringing diseases to the wild stock of the region, however Ocean Grown Abalone states that their two year pilot project proves that abalone can be farmed successfully and safely.
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