The Australian abalone industry structure comprises around 700 small owner operator businesses scattered amongst the southern Australian states with little or no capacity to coordinate investment in and manage industry development. Recovering lost industry value and delivering future growth is contingent upon coordinated investment in industry development at the whole of industry level.

The Abalone Council of Australia (ACA) is now established and well positioned to implement its strategic plan and to integrate R&D work across all stakeholders. This investment will assist the ACA in identifying, planning, investing and managing research, development and extension to support the industry.