Abalone are commercially farmed gastropod molluscs with uncertain but growing evidence for sentience. Their welfare in aquaculture systems deserves attention as evidence accumulates.
Abalone welfare science is at an early stage, with the question of whether they experience suffering in a morally relevant sense still genuinely uncertain. Their nervous systems are significantly simpler than crustaceans, making sentience less likely but not impossible. The precautionary principle suggests that where production is at significant scale, minimizing potential suffering through good environmental management is appropriate regardless of certainty about sentience. Welfare-relevant concerns include thermal stress during temperature extremes, overcrowding that may cause chronic stress responses, and handling during harvest. As evidence for invertebrate sentience accumulates across the animal kingdom, periodic reassessment of abalone welfare status is warranted.