Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap yesterday launched in Iloilo a five-year program to address shortage of abalone in the world market spearheaded by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center and the Bureau of Fisheries and Agriculture Research. Abalone are species of shellfish or mollusks. There is an estimated shortage of about 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of abalone.

DA launches abalone breeding program. (2007, July 14). The Visayan Daily Star, p. 15.