GROWTH OF THE ASS EAR ABALONE (HALIOTIS-ASININA LINNE) ON HERON-REEF,TROPICAL EASTERN AUSTRALIA

Growth of ass's ear abalone (Haliotis asinina) was measured in situ (m ark-recapture of adults) and in aquaria (juveniles) on Heron Reef, Que ensland. A growth curve (y = 4.27l(2.03)e(-u), where y is the growth r ate, l is the shell length, and u = 0.27l(0.88)) fitted to these data indicated a sigmoidal age-length relationship, It is estimated that H. asinina may grow from 2 mm to 35.6 mm in shell length in six months a nd 55.0 mm in one year. These growth estimates are consistent with tem poral shifts in the size-frequency distributions of juveniles in the f ield. Peak growth rates, estimated at over 120 mm year(-1) in young ab alone (approximately 3-4 months of age), are the highest recorded for any abalone species.