Restoring abalone

Abalone are beautiful marine snails that provided food and shells for local tribes since the beginning of time, only to be fished out by poachers and over-harvested due to poor management. They are now functionally extinct, meaning there are so few they can’t find a mate and reproduce.

When Washington state was developing a recovery plan for abalone, SeaDoc funded some key scientific studies that created the backbone of the abalone restoration program. These provided important science on abalone genetics, habitat needs, and ideal size for releasing hatchery-reared abalone. SeaDoc’s small investment in science helped guarantee a scientifically-based recovery program for abalone.

Do your part!

If you’re a diver or beachcomber and you see an abalone anywhere in Puget Sound, enjoy the rare sighting but don’t disturb the animal. Take a photo and send it, along with the location, to the scientists at WDFW via this link.

• Status and Habitat Associations of the Threatened Northern Abalone: importance of kelp and coralline algae

• Is climate change contributing to range reductions and localized extinctions in northern (Haliotis kamtschatkana) and flat (Haliotis walallensis) abalone?