Ab ID.

[jlyle]

Depths: Blacks <15'
Pinks 15-50'
Greens 15-30' (at Catalina less than 19')
Reds 50-100'

[The other big abalone was the white (H. sorenseni) which is now very close to extinction. It was normally found below 70 feet. In all my years of diving, I've only seen them once and that was several years ago. The last I heard, they had a couple of females in captivity and were desperately looking for a male Sorensen.]

 

[headhunter]

Remember, everything looks bigger underwater! LOL

Different species are different sizes - like lions, tigers, leopards, and house cats.

Blacks don't normally get much over 6", greens and pinks about 7-8" max, and the reds are the big guys at 8-10", but there are bigger specimens out there.

Back in the '70s and early '80s there were abs everywhere. And they were all really big! We had a lot more kelp and a lot less urchins too.

Well, for good or bad things change.

Christian

 

[jlyle]

Back in the '70s and early '80s there were abs everywhere. And they were all really big! We had a lot more kelp and a lot less urchins too.

Well, for good or bad things change.

Christian

Over harvesting took its toll on the abalone population and then withering foot disease decimated the remaining population. Years ago, you could walk down the cliffs in Palos Verdes and take a limit (five) abalone during a negative tide without getting your feet wet. Now, we get excited when we see one. Maybe they will come back like the black sea bass. We can always hope.

I just did some quick research and found that ROV surveys on Tanner and Cortes Banks in 2003/2004 have found small populations of white abalone. They are at significantly lower densities than years ago, but it is heartening to know that there are still some out there. This is the only mollusc on the endangered species list.

 

[SoCalAngel]

Now, we get excited when we see one. Maybe they will come back like the black sea bass. We can always hope.

I just did some quick research and found that ROV surveys on Tanner and Cortes Banks in 2003/2004 have found small populations of white abalone. They are at significantly lower densities than years ago, but it is heartening to know that there are still some out there. This is the only mollusc on the endangered species list.

It is hard to beleive a snail is on the endangered species list. I guess that sad would be a better word for it, actually. I do get excited when I see them, though. It is so fun to feed them. I love the way they "rear up" to grab kelp fronds.

 

[Frank O]

By the way, speaking of abs, Ian Taniguchi, an associate marine biologist with Cal Fish & Game in Los Alamitos, put out the word a while ago that he's very interested in reports of abalone sightings from divers to help keep track of how they're doing in Southern California. He's interested in knowing date, location, depth, size and number of abalone, type if known, etc, and especially appreciates pictures. He was kind enough to ID the types of abs I photographed recently in Palos Verdes (greens) and Malibu (pinks). You can send him reports at ITaniguchi@dfg.ca.gov .