86 THE NAUTILUS. 



of September of each year, buys, sells, takes, catches, kills or has in 

 his possession * * * any abalones or abalone shells of the kind 

 known to commerce as the black abalones (Haliotis Californica), 

 the shell of which shall measure less than twelve inches around the 

 outer edge of the shell, or any other abalone shells, or abalones, the 

 shell of which shall measure less than fifteen inches around the outer 

 edge of the shell, is guilty of a misdemeanor." 



Is this law enforced? 



H. I. Pritchard, Deputy State Fish Commissioner, says : "Sec- 

 tion G28 has been enforced the same as any other section of the fish 

 and game laws." 



In answer to my inquiry for The Nautilus, he writes: " I can 

 only give you the names and dates of my personal cases : August 13, 

 1904, at Anacapa Island Bay, Webster of Venture, small shells, 

 fined $20.00, first offense. Same day and place, Henry Ireland, of 

 Los Angeles, same fine. September 13, 1906, James Greenbeck,at 

 Redondo, small shells, fined $20.00. There has been a gang of 

 Japanese arrested near San Clemente Island, and again near Santa 

 Cruz Island and heavily find both times, but cannot give names and 

 dates; they used a diving suit and took 45,000 shells in 60 days." 



Instead of mentioning " Hallolis californica" as the name of the 

 black abalone, our lawmakers would have done better had they left 

 the shell with the familiar name of commerce instead of giving the 

 scientific one. It is to be presumed the name u Haliotis colifornica " 

 is intended for Haliotis californiensis,* but this latter name belongs 

 to a rare variety of the black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii), not, to 

 my knowledge, collected north of the Mexican line. No concholo- 

 gist would testify that the common young black abalones were H. 

 californica or H. californiensis, but there is a saving clause in the 

 statute that would prohibit a culprit from escape because of the 

 technicality of a wrong name. It is this: " or any other abalone 

 shells, or abalones," evidently intended for the larger red and green 

 species (Haliotis rnfescens, Haliotis Jul gens, etc.). 



Abalone fisheries are confined to California. One is located a 

 few miles from Monterey, another at Whites' Point in Los Angeles 

 county. Dried ^abalones are prepared and shipped to China from 



1 Dr. H. A. Pilsbry on Haliotis cracherodii var. Californiemis Swains. The 

 Nautilus, Vol. xii, no. 7. p. 79. 



