Our anger rises as we begin to recollect what we know of the abalone poaching that has occurred along the Sonoma County Coast. Poached Abs North coast red abalone can only be taken for personal consumption by sportdivers. The current regulations limits divers to four abalone per day and each must be a minimum of seven inches. The abalone season runs from April 1 to June 30, and then from Aug. 1 to Nov 30. The commercial take of abalone while never permitted on the North coast is now closed statewide due to a decline in the abalone population.
Abalone is astonishingly valuable.
Abalone stocks are vulnerable. Not surprisingly, some people ignore and exceed the daily limit. Others will take tremendous risks to get vast numbers of abalone and avoid detection. It can take ten or more years for an abalone to reach a legal size of seven inches. With such a slow growth rate poachers can decimate an area and impact the fishery for a long time.