Abalone aquaculture is growing rapidly in South Africa, China, and Australia. New research is beginning to address the welfare needs of these commercially valuable gastropods.
Abalone welfare is an emerging field driven both by commercial interests in optimising production and by growing concern about invertebrate sentience. Abalone are less behaviourally complex than vertebrates but show avoidance responses and physiological stress indicators. The precautionary principle supports implementing welfare-improving practices even under scientific uncertainty. Key welfare parameters include appropriate water temperature and quality, shelter availability, feeding regimes that prevent competition stress, and low-trauma harvesting methods. Research in South Africa and elsewhere is developing species-specific husbandry recommendations that improve both welfare and commercial outcomes.