Abalone clinging to a kelp-covered reef in the Atlantic

34°22′S — 18°27′ELive tide—Est. 2013 · Doring Bay

Volume I — The Slow Craft

Atlantic Estuary · South Africa

Thepatientartofcoldwatercultivation.

Name: Doring Bay Abalone
Address: Doring Bay, Western Cape, ZA
Telephone: +27 27 215 1107

Our farm sits on the edge of Doring Bay, drawing icy Atlantic water straight from the Benguela current into hand-tended tanks. Every abalone is raised here for three to five patient years — graded by hand, shaped by the same cold sea that has fed this town for generations.

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Cultivated by hand · Doring BayabalonePremium grade · Hand-graded

Live tide

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Sea temperature

11.4 °C

Waves

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Chapter One — Doring Bay

A town
at the edge of the Atlantic.

A small fishing town. A community-rooted abalone farm.

The Doring Bay jetty and seawater intake at the edge of the Atlantic

A Doring Bay team member tending grow-out baskets

A Doring Bay grader holding a handful of young abalone

Chapter One — Doring Bay

A town
at the edge of the Atlantic.

A small fishing town. A community-rooted abalone farm.

Doring Bay is a small fishing town on South Africa's rugged West Coast, roughly 300 kilometres north of Cape Town, where the icy Benguela current presses against the shore. From its weathered jetty, our pumps draw cold, oxygen-rich Atlantic water straight into the farm — the perfect cradle for the slow development of premium abalone.

We are the largest employer in Doring Bay. The hands that grade, clean and tend our abalone are the hands of this town — generations of West Coast families who have built their lives, and ours, around the same stretch of sea.

Every shell raised here carries that story: the iridescent memory of the water, and the quiet pride of a community that grows with us. We harvest no faster than the bay — or its people — allow.

Location

Doring Bay

Town's largest

employer

Doring Bay is a small fishing town on South Africa's rugged West Coast, roughly 300 kilometres north of Cape Town, where the icy Benguela current presses against the shore. From its weathered jetty, our pumps draw cold, oxygen-rich Atlantic water straight into the farm — the perfect cradle for the slow development of premium abalone.

We are the largest employer in Doring Bay. The hands that grade, clean and tend our abalone are the hands of this town — generations of West Coast families who have built their lives, and ours, around the same stretch of sea.

Every shell raised here carries that story: the iridescent memory of the water, and the quiet pride of a community that grows with us. We harvest no faster than the bay — or its people — allow.

Location

Doring Bay

Town's largest

employer

The Farm

On the cold
Atlantic.

A small inlet on South Africa's West Coast, fed year-round by the Benguela current. Cold, oxygen-rich water lifted six metres above sea level and held perfectly still — the entire farm sits within the frame below.

Hatchery: Where every shell begins.
Grow-out tanks: Three to five Atlantic years.
Intake jetty: Twin KSB pump stations.
Production hall: Live · Pouched · Dried.
Cold Atlantic current: Benguela upwelling.

Chapter Two — The Lifecycle

Six layers,
of a single shell.

From a single spawn to a fully formed shell — each layer of nacre is laid down by a quiet act of devotion. Drag, click, or watch below.

Plate · 01 / 06Monthly cycle

← Swipe →

01 / 06 — Spawning

Stage 01 — The Awakening

Spawning

We carefully spawn male and female abalone monthly under highly controlled conditions — preserving the genetic precision that defines every shell that follows.

01 / 06

Chapter Three — Inside the Facility

From spawning
to shell.

A modern enterprise specialising in sustainable abalone cultivation — advanced hatchery, weaning and recirculating aquaculture systems engineered around animal welfare and environmental stewardship. Three rooms, one continuous craft.

Hatchery rearing tanks — 01APelagic rearing bins · UV-sterilised seawater

01BSettlement raceways · post-larval phase

Hand-decanting larvae between sieves — 01CHand-decanting · larvae transfer

01

Note from the hatchery

Every spawn begins in silence — and a single drop of seawater.

IStage 01 / 04

Inside the Facility — Chapter One

The Hatchery

Breeding & first light.

Our hatchery is a fully controlled spawning centre where mature abalone are first induced to release eggs and sperm separately — about six hours into the process — and then combined for twelve to seventeen hours to ensure optimal fertilisation. Once hatched, the tiny trochophore larvae are transferred to pelagic rearing bins filled with one-micron–filtered, UV-sterilised seawater. There, over five days, they subsist on their yolk reserves in a biosecure, meticulously monitored environment that maximises survival and uniform early growth.

Larvae size: ≈ 0.25 mm
Fertilisation window: 12 — 17 hrs
Water: 1µm filtered · UV sterilised
Yolk phase: 5 days

"Six hours of separation. Seventeen hours of union. The first quiet act of a patient life."

Grow-out tanks facing the Atlantic — 02AGrow-out tanks at the water's edge

Workers tending the tanks — 02BHand-cleaning · daily husbandry

Indoor grow-out hall — 02CIndoor flow-through hall

02

From the pump house

The Atlantic, lifted six metres and held perfectly still.

IIStage 02 / 04

Inside the Facility — Chapter Two

The Grow-Out Tanks

Maturity, drawn from the Atlantic.

Twin seawater-intake pump stations sit at the end of the jetty, lifting up to five hundred cubic metres of fresh Atlantic water per hour straight into our holding tanks, six-point-six metres above sea level. Each station houses two KSB centrifugal pumps configured duty / stand-by, backed by new 350 mm suction and 315 mm delivery lines that cut friction losses and prevent cavitation. Isolation and non-return valves keep flow uninterrupted, while automatic priming and level sensors safeguard against power or low-flow events. The result is a constant, oxygen-rich water supply that keeps every grow-out tank stable and our abalone thriving.

Intake capacity: 500 m³ / hour
Tanks elevation: 6.6 m above sea level
Suction line: 350 mm
Delivery line: 315 mm

"Five hundred cubic metres an hour. The Atlantic, on a perfectly steady pulse."

Hand grading shucked abalone — 03AHand grading · shucked under running water

Production line workers — 03BNRCS-approved processing line

Processing hall — 03CClosed-loop processing hall

03

On the production floor

Live, pouched, dried — three lines, one unbroken standard.

IIIStage 03 / 04

Inside the Facility — Chapter Three

Production

Three premium lines, one standard.

After a minimum of three years thriving in our grow-out tanks, each abalone enters an NRCS-approved production facility designed for three premium lines: live, pouched, and dried. Dedicated teams — diligently trained to match the specific requirements of each product — handle the shellfish under strict hygiene protocols. A closed-loop water-purification system supplies crystal-clear, UV-sterilised seawater to every workstation, protecting flavour and texture while minimising stress. From gentle purging and grading to vacuum-sealing or slow, low-temperature drying, every step is benchmarked against international HACCP standards to guarantee freshness, safety, and unrivalled quality.

Minimum age at intake: 3 years +
Lines: Live · Pouched · Dried
Facility: NRCS approved
Benchmark: International HACCP

"Three to five years in the tank. Five seconds in the hand. Every shell, individually known."

Production team inspecting drying racks of abalone — Hand inspection at the drying racks

Hanging strands of abalone in the drying suite — 04BStrung for the slow-cure suite

Sealed HACCP-certified drying corridor — 04CSealed, HACCP-certified corridor

04

From the drying suite

An ocean breeze, sealed and patiently held.

IVStage 04 / 04

Inside the Facility — Chapter Four

Drying & Export

The final, patient breath.

Our state-of-the-art drying suites replicate the gentle ocean breeze inside a fully sealed, HACCP-certified environment. Programmable controllers maintain a tightly regulated temperature-and-humidity profile, while energy-efficient heat-pump dehumidifiers and laminar airflow keep every surface pristine. Stainless-steel racks are fitted with real-time moisture and core-temperature probes, so each abalone leaves the room at its exact target water-activity level. The result is a uniformly golden, nutrient-rich dried product with extended shelf life, clean ocean-sweet flavour, and uncompromising food-safety assurance.

Environment: Sealed, HACCP-certified
Airflow: Laminar heat-pump
Monitoring: Moisture & core probes
Output: Uniform golden grade

"An ocean breeze, distilled into a sealed white room — and held there for weeks."

By the numbers

One decade of quiet scale.

0+

Dedicated Staff

Multi-generational team

0

Harvested Annually

Hand-graded export

0

Spat Per Month

From our hatchery

0

Of Cultivation

Since 2013

Chapter Three — On Film

Echoes of the bay,
in a single glance.

Chapter Five — Principles

Three rules,
unbroken since 2013.

I

Patience

We grow at the pace of the tide. No accelerants. No shortcuts. Only what the ocean grants.

II

Stewardship

Land-based recirculating systems return clean water to the Atlantic. The coast remains untouched.

III

Hand

Every shell graded by a human eye. Fifty pairs of hands, three decades of intuition.

Range

Doring Bay Abalone — Product Line

Three forms,
one ocean.

From the harbour to your kitchen — our abalone is finished in three distinct ways. Each carries the same three-to-five-year patience, and each is cultivated, graded and packed by hand at Doring Bay.

Pouched·Live·Dried

Braised whole abalone — chef's plating — The same shell that left our bay — finished by hand, plated by a chef.

As served

"The same shell that left our bay — finished by hand, plated by a chef."

Braised whole dried South African abalone — gift box

01Pouched · Range

Range 01

Pouched

Net weight: 100 g – 140 g per pouch
Sauce included: Each pouch is filled with our rich house abalone sauce
Packaging: Vacuum-sealed for optimal freshness and long shelf life
Convenience: Fully pre-cooked — simply warm or enjoy straight from the pouch

02Live · Range

Range 02

Live

Truly live: Harvested to order, each abalone is shipped alive and active
Export size range: 100 g – 140 g whole weight
Fresh on arrival: Chilled, oxygen-rich packaging maintains peak condition from farm to market
Certified quality: All handling and export are audited under South Africa's NRCS standards

03Dried · Range

Range 03

Dried

Premium size: 140 g and larger whole shells
Tailored finish: Carefully dried to meet the specific moisture and texture preferences of each client — from classic "supreme" dryness to softer chef-selected grades
Artisanal process: Slow, temperature-controlled dehydration in our state-of-the-art drying rooms preserves natural umami depth and delicate marbling

Trade Enquiry

Bring our range
to your table.

Wholesale, restaurant and export enquiries are answered by hand within two working days. Tell us what you're sourcing — and the volumes you have in mind.