Abalone Culture Update

On Thursday 4th of December Role Foundation placed the new abalone cage in amongst the seaweed beds at Geger beach, Nusa Dua. This was the culmination of several weeks of hard work putting the cage together. Made of fine mesh to allow a steady through flow of water and reinforced with bamboo strips to provide extra stability, the cage is divided into three separate chambers. This experimental design will allow varying numbers of abalone to be housed independently in order to ascertain the optimum conditions for grow out.

At 6am the Role team placed the abalone cage in 1.5m of water at low tide. It was secured in place using metal rods and positioned adjacent to the seaweed beds. Several rocks were placed in each of the chambers to provide a suitable habitat for the abalone and seaweed was added as a natural food source. Thirty-five six month old abalone, were transferred to their new home where they will spend the next few months.

Upon maturation the abalone will be sold to local Asian restaurants where they are considered to be a delicacy. There will be no wastage and the shells will be used to produce sustainable jewelry, alleviating some of the pressure currently being placed on marine shells by the curio trade.

Role Foundation will be looking to increase abalone production and further cages will be built for the grow-out process. This sustainable form of alternative livelihood should provide some much needed additional income for the Seaweed Farmers Association members.

ROLE believes that the health of the Marine Environment and the health of Coastal Communities are inextricably linked.
Over fishing, coastal beachfront development, ever increasing waste discharge and upstream pollutants have placed marine resources, including tropical coral reefs and lagoons, and local fisheries in sharp environmental decline. The income derived, the food sourced and the protein and nutrition attained from these recourses by most coastal communities have dried up or become insufficient.

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