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.

This study is aimed comparative analysis for business performance of land-based ezo abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) seed farms by standardizing cost structures by region and farming size. The result of survey on average farming incomes by region showed that farming incomes in Haenam and Jindo regions were much higher than those in other regions. Followed by Wando region, incomes in other regions were analyzed to be relatively lower. It is shown that farming incomes became higher as farm size increased. Farming incomes per unit size which were modified from farming incomes by region were highest in Jindo region, followed by East sea region, Wando and Haenam regions. Incomes in Jeju and Yeosu regions were analyzed to be relatively lower. Results on farming incomes per unit size (m2) showed that both farming incomes and profits became higher as size increased. It implies that a scale effectiveness might exist in case of land-based abalone culture system. Impacts of major factors on farming profits and returns on investment in abalone seed aquaculture are summarized as follow. First, only if the survival rate increased by 10% with improvement of component ratio, variable effects became largest. In variable effects of other factors, a variation in Jindo region was largest and on the other hand, a variation in Yeosu region was shown to be smallest.