Viljoen Abalone - Oceanic Institute

Big Island Abalone:
yesterday, today and tomorrow
by
Cecilia Viljoen
Big Island Abalone Corporation
Abalone around the World
• Farmed in: China, Korea, South Africa, Chile,
Australia, Taiwan, U.S.A., Japan (spat),
Thailand, New Zealand
• Initially harvested Algae from the wild
• Now increased use of farmed seaweed and
pelleted feeds: sustainability becoming essential
• Pelleted feed formulas have improved
tremendously
44510
1970
22667
50000
45000
40000
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
20370
Metric tons
Global supply of abalone from all sources
2002
Year
2008
Feeds: China
Feeds: South Africa
Big Island Abalone
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NELHA, Kailua-Kona, Big Island
Started research 1997, sales in 2001
Haliotis discus hannai (Ezo)
2003 Exporter of the year award
2011 Finalist Hawaii Business Innovation
Showcase for APEC
• Last 2.5 years over doubled production:
standing stock from 40T to over 100T (5.5
million abalone)
• Critical to secure good feed!
Feed Experiment (May 2010)
• Two sizes of abalone: 0.37g and 20g
• Combinations of 3 artificial feeds with 3
types of algae
• 4 Replicates per treatment
• Run for 7 months
• Look at FCR (feed consumed/body wt),
cost, appearance, gonad index, stoutness
index (weight/length), and market
acceptance
Feed experiment: initial MEDIUM abalone growth/month (2 months)
3.00
2.00
Lth (mm)
1.13
0.84
0.50
1.09
1.20
0.97
0.76
1.67
1.56
1.69
2.13
1.48
2.03
Wt (g)
1.73
2.19
1.99
2.61
1.53
2.48
1.00
2.70
1.50
1.66
g/mm per month
2.50
AL
AAL
0.00
DL
ND
AD
AAD
NU
AU
Feed combination
AAU
NL
Feed experiment: SMALL abalone WEIGHT increment/month
1.40
1.20
0.80
AAD
0.72
0.34
0.43
AD
0.20
0.49
ND
0.66
1.04
DL
0.40
0.85
1.08
0.60
1.05
Wt (g)
1.10
g per month
1.00
AL
AAL
0.00
NU
AU
AAU
Feed com bination
NL
Initial FCR abalone
feed consumed (dry g) / body weight (wet g)
FEED DL
ND
AD
AAD NU
AU
AAU NL
AL
AAL
FCR
(S)
0.83 0.55 0.52 0.61 1.01 0.91 1.07 2.33 2.11 2.24
FCR
(M)
1.81 1.39 1.4
1.82 1.88 1.94 2.19 7.38 5.83 10.84
Feed costs
Cost of feeds:
1) Cultured Dulse: US$1.11 /kg
2) Imported Abfeed: US$ 2.51/kg
3) Imported Dried Laminaria: US$2.58/kg
• Most cost effective tested feed
combination: Dulse and Abfeed
• Imported 12 tons of Abfeed from S.A.
Farm trial: Dec 2010
• Compare performance OI vs Abfeed
• 5 Treatments: A, A&D, OI, OI&D, D
(control)
• For combination feeds: 4D art; 3D Dulse
• For pelleted feeds: 6D (3 times per week)
• Ran 7 months – limited space!
Abalone growth (g)/month
4.00
Abalone weight increment per month (g)
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
A+D
A
OI+D
OI
D (CONTR)
% of Projected weight
25.00
20.00
15.00
% of projected weight
10.00
5.00
0.00
A+D
-5.00
-10.00
-15.00
-20.00
-25.00
A
OI+D
OI
D (CONTR)
Conclusions
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The OI feed needs some work:
1) Improve growth performance
2) A more acceptable shell color
3) Utilize co-products from the Biofuels or
other Algae Industries
Thank you!