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Roe’s Abalone are distributed from Shark Bay in WA south around to western Vic. They are classified as sustainable stock in WA, except for the WA Area 8 Fishery, which is classified as depleted, and undefined stock in SA.

Roe’s Abalone are distributed from Shark Bay in Western Australia south around to western Victoria. Recent genetic evidence indicates the existence of a single Roe’s Abalone meta-population across the species' distribution (sampled from Kalbarri in Western Australia to Spencer Gulf in South Australia) but with three differentiated adaptive population clusters [Sandoval-Castillo et al. 2015]. The southern adaptive population cluster extends across a substantial geographic range (Albany in Western Australia to Spencer Gulf in South Australia) traversing jurisdictional boundaries. The stock is currently managed as several separate units. Assessment of stock status is therefore presented here at the management unit level—Western Australia Area 2 Fishery, Western Australia Area 5 Fishery, Western Australia Area 6 Fishery, Western Australia Area 7 Fishery and South Australia Western Zone Fishery.

South Australia Western Zone Fishery

Prior to commercial catches, an experimental fishery for Roe’s Abalone caught 45 t (whole weight) from November 2000 to December 2002 [Preece et al. 2004]. Results from the experimental fishery suggested that Roe’s Abalone are widely, but patchily distributed across the Western Zone of South Australia with limited areas of high abundance [Preece et al. 2004]. In 2014, a commercial catch limit of 11 t (whole weight) with a minimum legal length of 75 mm shell length (L50 estimated at 50–59 mm shell length [Preece et al. 2004]) was implemented under a Ministerial exemption. Best estimates of annual catch were between 65 per cent and 85 per cent of the total catch limit, with the species being targeted on very few days and by a small percentage of licence holders. CPUE was between 30 and 33 kg/hr from 2017 to 2019. There is no published assessment available for Roe's Abalone, and the data available are inadequate to estimate biomass or exploitation rates. There is little knowledge on recruitment or harvestable biomass, and there are no defined target or limit reference levels. This prevents assessment of current stock size or fishing pressure. Consequently, there is insufficient information available to confidently classify the status of this stock.

Based on the evidence provided above, the South Australia Western Zone Fishery management unit is classified as an undefined stock.

Roe’s Abalone biology [Keesing 1984, Hancock 2004]

1. Department of Fisheries (DoF), Western Australia 2017. Abalone resource of Western Australia harvest strategy 2016–2021. Fisheries Management Paper No. 283. Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, Perth. 36pp.
2. Hancock, B 2004, The biology and fishery of Roe’s abalone Haliotis roei Gray in south-western Australia, with emphasis on the Perth fishery. PhD thesis, University of Western Australia. 184pp.
3. Hart, AM, Strain, LWS and Brown, J 2018, Regulation dynamics of exploited and protected populations of Haliotis roei, and their response to a marine heatwave. ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsy064.
4. Hesp, A, Loneragan, N, Hall, N, Kobryn, H, Hart, AM, Fabris, FP and Prince, J. 2008, Biomass and commercial catch estimates for abalone stocks in areas proposed as sanctuary zones for the Capes Marine Park. Fisheries Research Report, No. 170. Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, 52pp.
5. Keesing, J 1984, Reproductive biology of the abalone Haliotis roei Gray, 1827, in south-western Australia. Honours Thesis. Murdoch University, Western Australia. 99 pp
6. Preece P, Mayfield S and Saunders T 2004. Biology of and feasibility fishing for Roe’s abalone (Haliotis roei). Final report to the Abalone Industry Association of South Australia. SARDI Aquatic Sciences Publication No. RD04/2002:64.
7. Sandoval-Castillo, J, Robinson, N, Strain, L, Hart, A and Beheregaray, LB 2015, Use of next generation DNA technologies for revealing the genetic impact of fisheries restocking and ranching. Australian Seafood CRC Report, No. 2012/714. Flinders University, Adelaide, 47pp.
8. Strain, LWS, Brown JM and Hart AM 2019, Recovering a collapsed abalone stock through translocation. Australian Seafood CRC Project No. 2011/762. Fisheries Research Report No. 292, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia. 93pp.