What impact does abalone domestication have on the genetic variability within and amongst populations?

Abalone are commercially fished from the sea by professional divers and recreational fishers collect them during the open season near the shore. Due to the demand for this delicacy, farming of abalone is now commonplace. Traditionally, farming has been on land and water from the sea is used to supply the tanks. In some places, ranching of abalone is gradually being introduced. Ranching involves breeding and raising abalone to a certain size, and then placing them on leased reefs in the wild to grow out, for harvesting when they are ready (imagine, free-ranging abalone!).

After the very real abalone die-offs as a result of abalone viral ganglioneuritis (AVG is caused by a herpesvirus), there has been increased vigilance in movement of livestock and in health checks.

There has been plenty of political battles between the various stakeholders (recreational fishers, live restaurant trade, commercial divers, traditional farmers and ranchers). Each with an economic stake in this oppose each others’ activities as they are seen to jeopardise the health and safety of the abalone resource. Add to this, the dimension of altering the genetic structure of the population.

A risk analysis was recently conducted, regarding the probability of disease spread which was funded by the FRDC. We have yet to hear the conclusions.

This article concentrates on the genetic aspect and it’s worth a read especially if you’re into breeding fish for wild stock enhancement.

According to this article, abalone domestication has no impact on the genetic variability within and amongst populations.

Aquaculture
Volume 357, Number 3 (August 2012)
	A population genetic analysis of abalone domestication events in South Africa: Implications for the management of the abalone resource
	Authors:	Clint Rhode, Juli-ann Hepple, Suzaan Jansen, Tanja Davis, Jessica Vervalle, Aletta Elizabeth Bester-van der Merwe, Rouvay Roodt-Wilding
	Author Affiliations:	no affiliations available
	Source:	Aquaculture, Volume 357, Number 3 (August 2012)
	Page Numbers:	235 – 242
	Available Full Text:	Full Text: Subscription Required to view full text Format: PDF Size: Unknown Location: Publisher’s Site Authentication: Publisher’s Site
	Abstract:	Abalone culture is South Africa’s largest aquaculture sector in terms of revenue. Nonetheless, the industry is in its formative years and much scope remains for refinement and regulation of production practices. It is important to manage genetic diversity in terms of the particular breeding objectives pursued by respective facilities: selective breeding vs. ranching; whilst conserving the genetic integrity of wild populations remains a national imperative. The present study found no significant decrease in genetic diversity between wild and cultured populations as based on heterozygosity and allelic content of genomic- and EST-microsatellite loci. However, estimates for pairwise genotypic differentiation, Fst, AMOVA and Factorial correspondence analysis suggest the genetic heterogeneity of cultured populations and their significant differentiation from the wild progenitor populations. As expected, the cultured population showed reduced effective population sizes, but relatedness remained low. It is postulated that both neutral and selective evolutionary forces are responsible for the observed patterns of genetic variability within and amongst populations. The implications of the results are discussed in terms of broad managerial objectives for the South African abalone and continued monitoring is advised.
	Citation:	Clint Rhode, Juli-ann Hepple, Suzaan Jansen, Tanja Davis, Jessica Vervalle, Aletta Elizabeth Bester-van der Merwe, Rouvay Roodt-Wilding . A population genetic analysis of abalone domestication events in South Africa: Implications for the management of the abalone resource. Aquaculture, Volume 357, Number 3 (August 2012), pp. 235-242, ;
	URL:	http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4C24A0722428D6D8BA24

 
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