Growth of the Ass's Ear Abalone (Haliotis asinina Linne) on Heron Reef, Tropical Eastern Australia

Abstract

Growth of ass's ear abalone (Haliotis asinina) was measured in situ (mark-recapture of adults) and in aquaria (juveniles) on Heron Reef, Queensland. A growth curve O, = 4.2 7l to the power of 2.03 e to the power of -u, where y is the growth rate, l is the shell length, and u = 0.27l to the power of 0.88) fitted to these data indicated a sigmoidal age-length relationship. It is estimated that H. asinina may grow from 2 mm to 35.6 mm in shell length in six months and 55.0 mm in one year. These growth estimates are consistent with temporal shifts in the size-frequency distributions of juveniles in the field. Peak growth rates, estimated at over 120 mm in young abalone (approximately 3-4 months of age), are the highest recorded for any abalone species.