Abalone
The flesh of abalone is widely considered to be a delicacy, and is consumed raw or cooked by a variety of cuisines.
[2] The iridescent nacre that lines the inside of the shell varies in color from silvery white, to pink, red and green-red to deep blue, green to purple.
[8] These snails cling solidly with their broad, muscular foot to rocky surfaces at sublittoral depths, although some species such as Haliotis cracherodii used to be common in the intertidal zone.
[10] The majority of abalone species are found in cold waters, such as off the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Western North America, and Japan.
[11] The shell of the abalone is exceptionally strong and is composed of a tightly packed calcium carbonate matrix.
Material scientists are currently studying this structure for insight into stronger ablative protective tools such as body armor.
[12] The dust created by grinding and cutting abalone shell is dangerous; appropriate safeguards must be taken to protect people from inhaling these particles.
Abalone possess very little clotting factor, meaning even a mild to moderate skin-piercing injury can result in death from fluid loss.
[15][16][17] These shells have been found in archaeological sites around the world, ranging from 100,000-year-old deposits at Blombos Cave in South Africa to historic Chinese abalone middens on California's Northern Channel Islands.
Abalone is also farmed in Australia, Canada, Chile, France,[24] Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain,[25] Thailand, and the United States.
[26] After trials in 2012,[27] a commercial "sea ranch" was set up in Flinders Bay, Western Australia to raise abalone.
[30] In the United States, prior to this time, abalone was predominantly eaten, gathered, and prepared by Chinese immigrants.
Abalone started to become popular in the US after the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915, which exhibited 365 varieties of fish with cooking demonstrations, and a 1,300-seat dining hall.
[33] In Japan, live and raw abalone are used in awabi sushi, or served steamed, salted, boiled, chopped, or simmered in soy sauce.
In California, abalone meat can be found on pizza, sautéed with caramelized mango, or in steak form dusted with cracker meal and flour.
(Scuba diving for abalone in the states of New South Wales and Western Australia is illegal; a free-diving catch limit of two is allowed).
The state is sectioned into three fishing zones, Eastern, Central and Western, with each fisher required a zone-allocated licence.
Harvesting is performed by divers using surface-supplied air "hookah" systems operating from runabout-style, outboard-powered boats.
[43] In 2018, the California Fish and Game Commission closed recreational abalone season due to dramatically declining populations.
[41] The largest abalone recorded in California is 12.34 in (31.3 cm), caught by John Pepper somewhere off the coast of San Mateo County in September 1993.
The limit is strictly enforced by roving Ministry for Primary Industries fishery officers with the backing of the New Zealand Police.
Convictions have resulted in seizure of diving gear, boats, and motor vehicles and fines and in rare cases, imprisonment.
[50] The largest abalone in South Africa, Haliotis midae, occurs along roughly two-thirds of the country's coastline.
Ormers (Haliotis tuberculata) are considered a delicacy in the British Channel Islands as well as in adjacent areas of France, and are pursued with great alacrity by the locals.
This, and a recent lethal bacterial disease,[53] has led to a dramatic depletion in numbers since the latter half of the 19th century, and "ormering" is now strictly regulated to preserve stocks.
The gathering of ormers is now restricted to a number of 'ormering tides', from 1 January to 30 April, which occur on the full or new moon and two days following.
[55] The highly iridescent inner nacre layer of the shell of abalone has traditionally been used as a decorative item, in jewelry,[2] buttons, and as inlay in furniture and musical instruments, such as on fret boards and binding of guitars.
Abalone has been an important staple in a number of Indigenous cultures around the world, specifically in Africa and on the Northwest American coast.
[57] Abalone are critically threatened due to overfishing and the acidification of oceans[58] as lower pH erodes the calcium carbonate in their shells.
In the 21st century, white, pink, and green abalone are on the United States federal endangered species list.
