Abalone aquaculture is expanding globally, raising important questions about whether these marine gastropods experience pain and what conditions constitute acceptable welfare standards.
The welfare status of abalone remains scientifically contested, but growing evidence suggests these molluscs have functional nociceptive systems and show behavioral responses consistent with pain experience. In intensive aquaculture, abalone are frequently held at high densities that limit movement, feeding access and normal behavioral expression. Handling during grading, transport and harvesting causes documented physiological stress responses. As with other invertebrate aquaculture, the precautionary principle suggests welfare standards should be developed and applied before scientific certainty is established, rather than waiting for definitive proof of sentience.