New Zealand pāua, a cultural, ecological and economic important species
The following text has been provided by Prof Andrea C. Alfaro, Aquaculture Biotechnology Research Group at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.
The Aquaculture Biotechnology Research Group combines multidisciplinary approaches to carry out applied research that assists and advances New Zealand’s growing aquaculture industry.
Postgraduate students experience a dynamic environment where they participate in collaborative research that emphasises the development and application of innovative tools and approaches to solve complex ‘real world’ problems. The team brings together experience and expertise from different fields, such as ecology, biochemistry, metabolomics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, microscopy, drug delivery, bioprospecting, commercialisation, and biotechnology. We have a long track record securing external research grants, an extensive publication record, and numerous project success stories.
One of our project stories in collaboration with the Pāua Industry Council, involves the abalone populations from the Chatham Islands, a small Island out in Southern Ocean, literally on the edge of the Earth.
The Chatham Islands are home to some of the most prized abalone beds in New Zealand, housing black-footed abalone, pāua, (Haliotis iris).
Building on local agreements that cover supplementary restrictions on catch and size limits, selective fishing methods, and reef by reef shellfish management, “omics” research, characterising the biological response of abalone at metabolite level is becoming an important part of the puzzle to satisfy commercial fishers and marine ecosystems.
Current research is underway to establish baseline data associated with physiological and metabolic processes of Haliotis iris, associated with slow-growing (low fished) and fast-growing (high fished) population areas, around the Chatham Islands.
Targeting specific biomarkers relating to the biological response of abalone to their environment is showing promise for translocation initiatives.
Translocation has two parallel goals: to increase grow rates of slow growing pāua into the fishery and to re-establish a reproductive viable spawning biomass in productive but locally depleted areas. However, changing environmental factors (e.g., warming sea temperature and marine heatwaves) are also influencing pāua growth rates and limiting food availability in productive parts of the fishery, potentially increasing the proportion of pāua populations with slow growth. Establishing baseline indicators of pāua physiology and metabolism with respect to various environmental stressors will help to monitor long term population health trends which may inform better management and utilisation of slow growing populations. This work sets the stage for future work aimed at developing biomarkers for growth and health monitoring to support a growing and more sustainably abalone fishery.
If you are interested in this research keep a look-out for some of the associated publications:
ALFARO, A. C., NGUYEN, V. T., VENTER, L., ERICSON, J. A., SHARMA, S., RAGG, N. L. C. & CRAIG, M. 2021. The effects of live transport on metabolism and stress responses of abalone (Haliotis iris). Metabolites (accepted).
NGUYEN, T. V., ALFARO, A. C., VENTER, L., ERICSON, J. A., RAGG, N. L. C. & MUNDY, C. 2021. A Metabolomics approach to elucidate drivers of growth variability in black-footed abalone (Haliotis iris) from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Unpublished.
VENTER, L., ALFARO, A. C., NGUYEN, T. V. & LINDEQUE, J. Z. 2021. Metabolite profiling of abalone (Haliotis iris) energy metabolism: A Chatham Islands case study. Unpublished.
For some views of the beautiful Chatham Islands have a look here:
Please follow this link if you would like to get in touch with Prof Andrea Alfaro.