A REVIEW OF THE BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY FISHERIES AND MARICULTURE OF THE EUROPEAN ABALONE HALIOTIS-TUBERCULATA LINNAEUS 1758 (GASTROPODA, HALIOTIDAE)

A comprehensive review of the biology, ecology, fisheries and cultivat ion of the European abalone (ormer) Haliotis tuberculata Linnaeus 1758 is presented. Topics include taxonomy, morphology, distribution, repr oduction, pre-adult and adult stages, nutrition, growth, population ch aracteristics, and various aspects of exploitation and mariculture. Da ta and information were obtained from unpublished as well as published sources. The ormer, the only species in the family Haliotidae which i s harvested commercially in Europe, has a geographic range which exten ds in the eastern Atlantic from the Channel Isles and the French coast s of the western Channel in the north to the Cape Verde Islands and th e West African coasts of Mauritania and Senegal in the south. Ormers a re exploited both commercially and recreationally. Decreasing natural stocks and increasing value for the flesh have led to an interest in m ariculture of this species.