The status of abalone culture in ChinaABSTRACT Since 1990 abalone culture has spread widely from north to south on Chinas coast. Estimated total yield for the year 2001 was around 4,500 tonnes (excluding Taiwan). There are several hundreds of abalone farms along the coast. Some of the bigger farms produce more than 100 t of live abalone each year. The main cultured species are Haliotis diversicolor aquatilis Reeve in the south and H. discus hannai Ino in the north. Additionally H. discus discuss Reeve has been introduced from Japan and hybridized with H. discuss hannai. Crossbreeding has been applied in production. Tank culture and floating raft methods are important in the south and north respectively. At present, epidemic virus diseases and Vibrio are the gravest threat. Farms have suffered heavy economic losses as a result of these.KEY WORDS: abalone, culture, ChinaINTRODUCTIONSince the previous review of abalone culture in China, written for the 1989 First International Symposium on Abalone Biology, Fisheries and Culture (Nie 1992) there has been dramatic change. Abalone culture in a mass scale in China began in the mid 1980s. It developed rapidly in the 1990s spreading along the coasts from north to south. Estimated abalone output was about 4,500 tonnes (excluding Taiwan) in 2001, 99% produced by cultivation. Haliotis diversicolor aquatilis (i.e., H. diversicolor supertexta) was around 65% of the total yield. The cultured species are varied. The technique of crossbreeding has been used widely (Nie et al. 1995a, Nie & Wang 2000). Triploid breeding has already started in production situations (Wang et al. 1990, Sun et al. 1993, Sun et al. 1998, Zhang et al. 1998). Because the abalone industry has developed rapidly sales prices have declined sharply. This has been especially so for the price of small abalone. For example H. diversicolor aquatilis sales price has been sometimes less than the cost of production. Epidemic diseases have occurred frequently since 1993 (Liu et al. 1995, Nie et al. 1995a, Ma et al. 1996). In particular a virus disease has appeared successively during late winter in the south since 1999 (Huang et al. 1999). Farms have suffered heavy losses and the virus is a serious threat for abalone culture at present.Cultured Species and DistributionThere are eight species of abalone along Chinas coasts. Geographically H. discus hannai Ino is the only species in Liaoning and Shandong Provinces in northern China. The other seven species are distributed in Fujian, Taiwan, Guandong, and Hainan, the southern provinces. These species are H. diversicolor diversicolor Reeve, H. diversicolor aquatilis Reeve, H. varia Linnaeus, H. planata Sowerby, H. ovina Gmelin, H. clathrata Reeve, and H. asinina Linnaeus (Lu 1978, Dai & Wu 1989). Because H. diversicolor diversicolor grows slowly, H. diversicolor aquatilis becomes very important. This species was introduced from Taiwan to the southern continental coasts in 1989 and is now raised widely there. Additionally H. discus discus Reeve was introduced from Japan in 1986, H. discus hannai Ino from Dalian in 1990 and their hybridized generation are raised in the mid and northern Fujian (Nie et al. 1995b). There are now several hundreds of abalone farms in China. The largest produce more than 100 tonnes of live abalone per year.Culture MethodsThe culture methods used in China are quite varied. Because of the coastal and climatic conditions they are different in the north and south. Long line raft is an important method in the north. A length of 60-80 m of rope ties together plastic floating globes to support cages. There are two sorts of cage currently in use. A special cage for abalone culture consists of 6-12 tiers of 60-cm diameter plastic dishes. The entire assembly is covered with a net sealed with a zipper. The second type used is a scallop cage, of 8-12 tiers of 33-cm diameter. Most rafts are mixed culture with abalone and algal food, Laminaria or Undaria. Rafts are also used in some bays in the south where the wind and waves are weak. In these instances a plastic basket, the same as indoor tank culture baskets, is used instead of the other cages.Tank culture on land is the main type in the south. Because of frequent typhoons the culture had to develop on land. Concrete tanks are used of around 30-50 cubic meters. A dark PVC basket of 40 cm x 30 cm x 13 cm is in common use, usually in a stack of 8-12 tiers arranged in rows in a tank. The baskets occupy 40-70% of the tank capacity (Nie & Wang 2000).In the western Guangdong and Hainan Province, in recent years, small abalone are cultured in the intertidal zone. A type of cylindrical concrete case, 110 cm x 80-120 cm (h) with an iron rack and net inside, is set on a low intertidal zone (Cai & Huang 2000).Rocky intertidal zones in the north are also used. Here growers build frames and cover with net as well as other types of cages (Zhang et al. 1994).Breeding Techniques and Present Probl