FISHERY BULLETIN; VOL. 87, NO. 3. 1989 



been utilized as food by man. Nearly 90 species 

 and subspecies are recorded as living in the 

 world today. Paleontological records indicate the 

 presence oif the genus since the Cretaceous (Cox 

 1962). Most extant species live in shallow 

 waters, feeding on marine algae common on 

 rocky substrates from the intertidal to depths 

 over 50 m. 



A staple item in the diet of coastal native 

 American tribes, abalone have also been of 

 major importance as food, medicine, and ele- 

 ments of ritual in Asia for centuries. In modern 

 times, extensive exploitation in many countries 

 has resulted in a marked reduction of fishery 

 stocks. Prior to the onset of abalone population 

 dechne in California, annual harvests generally 

 exceeded 4.5 million pounds (>2,000 t, see be- 

 low). In Japan, annual yields have been over 10 

 million pounds, supplemented now by an inten- 

 sive nationwide habitat improvement and seed- 

 ing program (Uki 1981). Production, chiefly from 

 fisheries, has exceeded 44 million pounds (20,000 

 t) annually (FAO 1975). Worldwide, the market 

 for abalone and abalone products is estimated at 

 more than $300 million (NMFS 1982^). Countries 

 most productive in this fishery have been Japan, 

 Mexico, Australia, South Africa, and the United 

 States. 



^National Marine Fisheries Service. 1982. Southwest 

 Regional Headquarters, Long Beach, CA. (Unpubl. rep.) 



In North America, fisheries continue to pro- 

 vide the major supply of abalone, although 

 aquaculture is gaining rapidly as a significant 

 new source, currently estimated at about 5% of 

 the total harvest. Commercial quantities of aba- 

 lones have been found chiefly along the coasts of 

 Cahfornia and northern Baja Cahfornia, Mexico. 

 A small fishery exists in Canada for the pinto 

 abalone, H. k. kamtschatkana, (Mottet 1978). 



Large-scale exploitation of abalones in Cali- 

 fornia has been in progress for almost a century. 

 Intertidal and shallow subtidal populations were 

 severely depleted by Asian harvesters around 

 the turn of the century. As diving techniques 

 improved and the number of divers increased, 

 especially following World War II, deep-water 

 populations were similarly impacted (Cicin-Sain 

 et al. 1977). An alarming decline was seen in the 

 early 1970s, and annual harvests dropped to less 

 than one miUion pounds after 1974 (Fig. 1). Com- 

 parable declines have been experienced in 

 Mexico, Japan, and elsewhere in the world were 

 intensive fisheries for abalones have developed. 

 However, the demand for abalone remains 

 strong, especially in Asian countries. Japan now 

 imports quantities almost equal to the domestic 

 harvest (Uki 1981). 



Circumstances surrounding the decline of the 

 Cahfornia abalone populations have been unique. 

 Red abalone, once abundant off the central Cah- 

 fornia coast, supported the bulk of the commer- 



I- 



X 



o 



UJ 



5 w 



^ 4 



Ul 



> 



O 3. 



W 5 



a ^ 



z 



D 1 



O 



a. 



1950 



1960 



1970 



1980 



Figure 1. — California commercial landings for red, green, and pink abalones, 

 1951-87. Red abalone predominated in catch until 1975. During 1981-87 average 

 annual landings of red abalone dropped to 329,410 pounds (in-shell) while black 

 abalone take averaged 414,620 pounds. Data from Cicin-Sain et al. (1977) and 

 California Department of Fish and Game, Marine Statistics, Commercial Fish 

 Landings, 1982-87. Other records for 1976-81 from Fish Bulletin 168 and 170, 

 and unpublished logs. Reports for 1979 and 1980 not available. 



690 



