AN EXPERIMENTAL TRANSPLANT OF NORTHERN ABALONE, 

 HALIOTIS KAMTSCHATKANA, IN BARKLEY SOUND, BRITISH COLUMBIA 



B. Emmett' and G. S. Jamieson^ 



ABSTRACT 



The biological and economic feasibilities of transplanting northern abalone, Haliotis kamtschcdkanH Jonas 

 1845, from exposed beds to two sites in sheltered, productive abalone habitat were investigated. After 

 nine months, 39% and 72% of transplanted abalone were recovered at the two replicate sites. Recovery 

 of tagged abalone at a control site, situated in the exposed source area, was 32%. Growth in shell length 

 of transplanted abalone over the nine months averaged 7.8% whereas the average growth of non- 

 transplanted controls was 3.7%, significantly less. There was little emigration of abalone from the 

 transplant sites. 



The study concludes that it is feasible to transplant 50-100 mm H. kamtschatkaiM in order to enhance 

 growth. The economic feasibility of transplants is dependent on site-specific recovery rates and the costs 

 of harvesting seed abalone. The population dynamics of abalone in exposed beds and the long-term poten- 

 tial for enhancing abalone settlement by introducing broodstock to depleted areas are two aspects which 

 now require investigation. 



The northern or pinto abalone, Haliotis kamtschat- 

 kana Jonas 1845, ranges from San Diego, CA to 

 Sitka, AK (Mottet 1978); is most abundant in British 

 Columbia and southeast Alaska; and is the only 

 species of abalone found in British Columbia. Al- 

 though present in the low intertidal zone in the 

 northern part of its range, northern abalone are nor- 

 mally foimd subtidally to depths of 15 m (Cox 1962). 

 In British Columbia the species is common in rocky 

 habitats associated with surface kelps (Macroqjstis 

 integrifolia and Nereocystis lv£tkeana) at depths of 

 3-7 m. 



In 1976 a market for Canadian abalone developed 

 in Japan, and annual landings increased from less 

 than 50 1 (Farlinger and Bates 1985) to 425 1 by 1978 

 (Breen 1980). Attempts were made to reduce the 

 catch through effort control and the imposition of 

 annual catch quotas. Despite these harvest restric- 

 tions, the northern abalone population in British 

 Columbia has been extensively depleted and recruit- 

 ment of legal-sized (>100 mm) abalone to the fishery 

 is low (Breen 1980; Boutillier et al. 1984, 1985). 



Although unharvested beds of legal size northern 

 abalone are now uncommon, sublegal size abalone 

 are often abundant in exposed habitats adjacent to 

 once-productive commercial grounds. These smaller 



'Archipelago Marine Research 11, 1140 Fort Street, Victoria, 

 British Columbia V8V 3K8, Canada. 



^Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Fisheries Research 

 Branch, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, British Columbia, 

 V9R 5K6. Canada. 



northern abalone are referred to as "surf" abalone 

 by fishermen. They most often occur in beds of 

 Pterygophora califomica or under Laminaria set- 

 chellii cover. Breen (1980) estimated mean popula- 

 tion densities of 9.5 abalone m"- in seven beds of 

 Pterygophora and 1.1 abalone m'- in 20 beds of 

 canopy-forming Afacroci/siis. However, only 3% of 

 the abalone in the Pterygophora habitat were of legal 

 size as compared with 46% in Macrocystis habitat. 

 In exposed areas, northern abalone may be slow- 

 growing and never reach legal size because of food 

 limitation. Alternatively, these northern abalone 

 may grow at normal rates but experience high rates 

 of mortality, or emigrate to other habitats. 



Breen (1986) transplanted 617 sublegal size H. 

 kamtschatkana from exposed habitat in the Queen 

 Charlotte Islands to a more sheltered Macrocystis 

 community. Recovery after one year was 10%, and 

 the author concluded that growth of these "surf" 

 abalone was enhanced when transplanted to more 

 favorable habitat. The present study examines the 

 feasibility of transplanting large numbers of sublegal 

 size northern abalone from an exposed area to more 

 sheltered habitats. Specific goals were 1) to deter- 

 mine the growth of transplanted individuals relative 

 to nontransplanted controls, 2) to monitor the 

 recovery of northern abalone in transplant and con- 

 trol areas after approximately one year, and 3) to 

 assess the economic feasibility of transplanting 

 sublegal size northern abalone for subsequent com- 

 mercial harvest. 



Manuscript accepted August 1988. 

 Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 87:95-104. 



95 



