# Genetic Parameter Estimates for Growth, Meat Yield and Foot Color Traits of Pacific Abalone Haliotis discus hannai

## TL;DR

This study estimates genetic parameters for growth, meat yield, and foot color in Pacific abalone to guide selective breeding for quality and efficiency.

## Contribution

The study provides novel heritability and genetic correlation estimates for key traits in Pacific abalone, informing targeted breeding strategies.

## Key findings

- Growth traits like shell length and total weight have moderate-to-high heritability.
- Foot color and meat weight are moderately heritable, but meat yield has low heritability.
- High genetic correlations exist between growth traits and meat weight, but not with foot color or meat yield.

## Abstract

This study performed a genetic evaluation of economically important traits in Pacific abalone to support quality-oriented selective breeding. Using 141 pedigreed families, we estimated heritabilities and genetic correlations for growth and processing-related traits. Growth traits, including shell length and total weight, exhibited moderate-to-high heritability, indicating substantial potential for genetic gain. Foot color and meat weight were moderately heritable, whereas meat yield showed low heritability. High genetic correlations were observed between growth traits and meat weight, but not between growth traits and foot color or meat yield. These results suggest growth and meat weight can be improved through direct selection, while enhancing foot color and meat yield may require trait-specific or alternative breeding strategies. Overall, this work provides a foundation for breeding programs aiming at balancing production efficiency and product quality.

This study was designed to evaluate the genetic parameters of growth, meat yield and foot color in Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) to support the development of a quality-oriented breeding program. Using data from 141 pedigreed full-sib families, heritabilities and genetic correlations among these traits were estimated. The results indicated that shell length at varying ages (0.45–0.71) and total wet weight (0.48) exhibited moderate-to-high heritabilities, suggesting substantial potential for genetic improvement in growth traits. The heritabilities for foot color (0.26) and meat weight (0.31) were moderate and statistically significant (p < 0.05), whereas the heritability for meat yield (0.14) was low and not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Strong positive genetic correlations were observed between shell length and total wet weight at harvest (0.90), as well as between total wet weight and meat weight at harvest (0.92). In contrast, the genetic correlations between total wet weight and foot color, and between total wet weight and meat yield, were low and not statistically significant (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that direct selection can effectively improve the growth and meat weight of Pacific abalone. However, improving foot color and meat yield may require independent or multi-trait selection approaches. Overall, this study provides crucial data for formulating a comprehensive breeding strategy that integrates both production efficiency and product quality in Pacific abalone aquaculture.