The production of abalone seed has grown and been specialized since the 2000s with the growth of the abalone farming industry. Despite the increase in the production of abalone seeds, the sales volume of abalone seeds remained flat and competition among producers increased. This paper will analyze the management efficiency of abalone seed production fishery to diagnose the management status and improve the abalone seed production efficiency. In addition, this study is the result of the basic research on the abalone seed industry and it is meaningful to prepare a platform for further research since the management status survey and the management efficiency survey of abalone seed production fishery have not been conducted until now. The data on the farmed fish prices of abalone seeds were collected from surveys of sample fish as part of the fish seed observation project conducted by the Fisheries Outlook Center (FOC) of Korea Maritime and Fisheries Development Institute (KMI). Management efficiency analysis utilizes DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) model. The DEA model was analyzed by classifying into CCR (Super-CCR), BCC, and SBM (Super-SBM) models according to the assumptions taking into account the characteristics of the industry. The slack considered in the SBM model was judged as possible decreases in input variables and increase in output variables. The average efficiency from the CCR model was analyzed to be 69%. The BCC model was classified into input and output orientations, and the average efficiency was 79% and 75%, respectively. There were seven production fisheries with an SE value of 1 or more, which remained unchanged in terms of size and could be benchmarked. The average efficiency of the SBM model was 59% for CRS and 66% for VRS. Under the VRS assumptions, the variable increase/decrease efficiency analysis shows that labor costs can be reduced by 37.3%, facility capacity by 18.8%, and operating costs by 8.5%. In order to improve management efficiency, Wando needs to reduce labor and management costs. In Jindo region, sales increase as well as labor cost reduction is urgent. In other regions, reduced facilities and increased sales are recommended.

Potential utility of 14 candidate housekeeping genes as normalization reference for RT-qPCR analysis with developmental samples (fertilized eggs to late veliger larvae) in Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai was evaluated using four different statistical algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and comparative ΔCT method). Different algorithms identified different genes as the best candidates, and geometric mean-based final ranking from the most to the least stable expression was as follow: RPL5, RPL4, RPS18, RPL8, RPL7, UBE2, RPL7A, GAPDH, RPL36, PPIB, EF1A, ACTB and B-TU. The findings were further validated via relative quantification of metallothionein (MT) transcripts using the stable and unstable reference genes, and expression levels of MT were greatly influenced according to the choice of reference genes. In overall, our data suggest that RPL5 and RPS18, either singly or in combination, are appropriate for normalizing gene expression in developmental samples of this abalone species, whereas ACTB, B-TU and EF1A are less stable and not recommended. In addition, our findings propose that standard deviations in geometric ranking as well as geometric mean itself should also be taken into account for the final selection of reference gene(s). This study could be a useful basis to facilitate the generation of accurate and reliable RT-qPCR data with developmental samples in this abalone species.

Nacre of abalone shell features a “brick-and-mortar” microstructure, in which micro-plates of calcium carbonate are bonded by nanometers-thick layers of chitin and proteins. Due to the microstructure and its unique toughening mechanisms, nacre possesses an excellent combination of specific strength, stiffness and toughness. This study deals with the possibility of using nacre fragments obtained from abalone shell for making a bulletproof armor system. A composite plate laminated with abalone shell fragments is made and compression and bend tests are carried out. In addition, a bulletproof test is performed with hybrid armor systems which are composed of an alumina plate, a composite plate, and aramid woven fabric to verify the ballistic performance of nacre. The compressive strength of the composite plate is around 258.3MPa. The bend strength and modulus of the composite plate decrease according to the plate thickness and are about 149.2MPa and 50.3 GPa, respectively, for a 4.85 mm thick plate. The hybrid armor system with a planar density of 45.2 kg/m2, which is composed of an 8 mm thick alumina plate, a 2.4 mm thick composite plate, and 18 layers of aramid woven fabric, satisfy the NIJ Standard 0101.06 : 2008 Armor Type IV. These results show that a composite plate laminated with abalone shell fragments can be used for a bulletproof armor system as an interlayer between ceramic and fabric to decrease the armor system’s weight.