The pinto abalone provides one promising means for diversification of Alaska mariculture, potentially providing Alaskan seaweed farmers with a new outlet for their product, either by producing abalone themselves or selling their seaweed to neighboring farms.
Abalone, however, eat a variety of seaweeds, and numerous studies have shown that types of seaweeds they consume can significantly affect their growth rate, nutritional composition, and gonad development. This study seeks to determine the ideal mixture of red seaweeds and kelps for maximizing the growth rate and gonad development of the pinto abalone, Haliotis kamtschatkana to aid in the development of an Alaskan abalone-farming industry.