WOAH Director General visits Abagold ahead of Cape Town G20 meeting

We were honoured to welcome Dr Emmanuelle Soubeyran, Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), to our farm in Hermanus on 17 September 2025. Dr Soubeyran travelled to South Africa for the G20 Agricultural Ministerial Meeting, held in Cape Town the following day, where she advocated for the place of animal health and welfare on the global agricultural agenda.

Her stop on the Hermanus shoreline gave us the opportunity to show how abalone is farmed responsibly on land. In its account of the visit, WOAH described farmed abalone as a delicacy in global demand and a symbol of how to "relieve pressure on overexploited wild populations and combat poaching through responsible aquaculture" — a description that speaks directly to our purpose.

Animal health sits at the heart of that work. Abalone are sensitive to several WOAH-listed aquatic diseases, which is why disciplined biosecurity and careful husbandry are woven into the daily rhythm of our farm.

WOAH also observed that countries such as South Africa are demonstrating how innovation and investment can help unlock the potential of the blue economy. We are proud that our farm could offer a working example of that promise ahead of an important week for global agriculture, and we thank Dr Soubeyran and her delegation for taking the time to visit.

Read the full article at WOAH.