page_title: Abalone
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Abalone / Human use / Sport harvesting / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Workers drying abalone shells in the sun in southern California Photograph of 4 men drying abalone in dozens of large wooden trays layed out on the beach north of Point Fermin, San Pedro, California. The rocky shoreline and palisades are visible behind them. Call number: CHS-1399 Filename: CHS-1399 Coverage date: circa 1900 Part of collection: California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 Format: glass plate negatives Type: images Geographic subject (city or populated place): San Pedro; San Pedro Repository name: USC Libraries Special Collections Accession number: 1399 Microfiche number: 1-107-13; 1-50-6 Archival file: chs_Volume76/CHS-1399.tiff Part of subcollection: Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 Repository address: Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 Geographic subject (country): USA Format (aacr2): 2 photographs&#160;: glass photonegative, photoprint, b&amp;w&#160;; 17 x 22 cm., 21 x 26 cm. Rights: Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library; From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Subject (adlf): industrial sites Project: USC Repository email: specol@usc.edu Contributing entity: California Historical Society Date created: circa 1900 Publisher (of the digital version): University of Southern California. Libraries Format (aat): photographic prints; photographs Geographic subject (state): California Subject (file heading): Industry -- Fishing Legacy record ID: chs-m11939; USC-1-1-1-12091 Access conditions: Send requests to address or e-mail given. Phone (213) 821-2366; fax (213) 740-2343. Geographic subject (county): Los Angeles Subject (lcsh): Fishing; Abalone fisheries
context_page_description: Abalone is a common name for any of a group of small to very large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae.
  Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and muttonfish or muttonshells in Australia, ormer in the UK, perlemoen in South Africa, and paua in New Zealand.
  Abalone are marine snails. Their taxonomy puts them in the family Haliotidae, which contains only one genus, Haliotis, which once contained six subgenera. These subgenera have become alternate representations of Haliotis. The number of species recognized worldwide ranges between 30 and 130 with over 230 species-level taxa described. The most comprehensive treatment of the family considers 56 species valid, with 18 additional subspecies.
  The shells of abalones have a low, open spiral structure, and are characterized by several open respiratory pores in a row near the shell's outer edge. The thick inner layer of the shell is composed of nacre, which in many species is highly iridescent, giving rise to a range of strong, changeable colors, which make the shells attractive to humans as decorative objects, jewelry, and as a source of colorful mother-of-pearl.
context_section_description: Sport harvesting of red abalone is permitted with a California fishing license and an abalone stamp card. In 2008, the abalone card also came with a set of 24 tags. This was reduced to 18 abalone per year in 2014, and as of 2017 the limit has been reduced to 12, only nine of which may be taken south of Mendocino County. Legal-size abalone must be tagged immediately. Abalone may only be taken using breath-hold techniques or shorepicking; scuba diving for abalone is strictly prohibited. Taking of abalone is not permitted south of the mouth of the San Francisco Bay. A size minimum of 7 in (180 mm) measured across the shell is in place.  A person may be in possession of only three abalone at any given time.
  As of 2017, Abalone season is May to October, excluding July. Transportation of abalone may only legally occur while the abalone is still attached in the shell. Sale of sport-obtained abalone is illegal, including the shell. Only red abalone may be taken, as black, white, pink, flat, green, and pinto abalone are protected by law. In 2018, The California Fish and Game Commission closed recreational abalone season due to dramatically declining populations. That year, they extended the moratorium to last through April, 2021.
  An abalone diver is normally equipped with a thick wetsuit, including a hood, bootees, and gloves, and usually also a mask, snorkel, weight belt, abalone iron, and abalone gauge. Alternatively, the rock picker can feel underneath rocks at low tides for abalone. Abalone are mostly taken in depths from a few inches up to 10 m (33 ft); less common are freedivers who can work deeper than 10 m (33 ft). Abalone are normally found on rocks near food sources such as kelp. An abalone iron is used to pry the abalone from the rock before it has time to fully clamp down. Divers dive from boats, kayaks, tube floats, or directly off the shore.
  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 mollusc Concholepas concholepas is often sold in the United States under the name "Chilean abalone", though it is not an abalone, but a muricid.
caption: Workers drying abalone shells in the sun in southern California, circa 1900
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