Abstract
Abalone aquaculture has developed very rapidly in Korea. Until the mid 1990s it has annually produced about 100 tons. Since then the yield has increased to about 9,000 tons in 2012. The amount accounts for 20% of the global abalone yield. About 86% of produced abalone is consumed domestically and the rest is exported. 100 tons for export seemed as an unattainable goal back in 2003. However, the export rose up to 1,333 tons in 2012. Despite its rapid growth, Korean abalone industry is faced with some problems. The first is the slowdown of yield increase rates. Abalone production increased by 50~60% until the mid 2000. However, the rate continued to drop to below 10%. Reasons behind the slow increase are deteriorating aquaculture grounds and worsening market problems. Constant aquaculture aggravated productivity and overcrowded facilities at a limited space made matters worse. Moreover, abalone export has stalled and so did domestic consumption. In the meantime, rising mortality of young abalone has lowered productivity at abalone breeding places. The mortality rates of abalone remained below 5% in the early 2000s but rose to 30~40% these days. This translates into rising abalone prices. The market problems imply stagnant or shrinking export as well as domestic consumption. The export increase rates took a nosedive from 200 to below 50 between the early 2000s and the late 2000s. Moreover, the increase rates of domestic consumption have become remarkably sluggish. According to, it stood at 50~60% in the mid 2000s but continued to decrease after 2008. These problems, in turn, affected the size of abalone. The usual abalone size for market was 10~12 shells per kg, but recently the size became smaller and smaller to 15~16 shells per kg. The change of size implies shift in consumption patterns: Consumers not only eat live abalone but also they cook soup with it. The size of abalone for uncooked dish is usually very big, like 10~12 shells per kg. In contrast, smaller abalone, such as 20~25 shells per kg, are used for making soup. Increasing use of smaller abalone leads to lower income of abalone aquaculture households. This is partly because that the size determines the price and the price gap between big abalones and smaller ones is extreme in Korea. For the sustainable growth of Korean abalone industry, we need to come up with strategies. First, a reasonable production system needs to be in place, especially for better management of abalone aquaculture grounds. Management of abalone licenses is also necessary because local governments issue relevant licenses as well as supervising abalone grounds. Second, abalone export destination need to be diversified. Japan, the major importer of Korean abalone, takes up a lion's share of export, at 95%. Third, new consumption style of abalone needs to be developed. Abalone used to be consumed as 'raw type' or Sashimi in Korea. This sole type of consumption hampers the growth of abalone market. Moreover, more strategies are needed to encourage and distribute home cooking of abalone rather than eating-out at restaurants. Last but not least, distribution system should be improved for better delivery of live abalone.
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