Hunting abalone

[Bob DBF]

Back to molluska... As far as conservation is concerned, I don't see freediving as much help. Sure; commercial ban, established seasons, bag limits, MPAs, those I see helping... but freediving only, I'm not so sure.

A couple negatives I see with freediving:
- Abalone are pried off rocks and later found to be too small or the diver wanted a bigger one (or whatever).
If the abalone has been cut when it is returned to the water, it will die.
- Areas within easy reach of freedivers are over-fished, other areas are left alone.

Too small is a problem with new Ab divers, but that is the reason for the gauge, when in doubt use it before you take the Ab. The folks I've shown ab diving use this method.

Upgrading Abs is illegal and beween Fish&Game, Park Rangers, the civilian Abalone Watch, and divers like myself (who will turn in violators) there are more eyes on the water looking for that activity which would never be seen if divers are on SCUBA.

Abalone repopulate in areas of heavy pressure and the areas that are left alone provide the seed. Another point is that from my experience over 40+ years, is there are a lot of legal Abalone in the areas that have high pressure because of their ability to "hide" and inability of a great number of divers to dive. As it is people an still walk out on the rocks on a low tide and find legal Abalone, this is allowed as well as freediving.

I think scuba would help eliminate the waste and more evenly distribute the fishing. BTW, I'm not advocating for Scuba only.

On SCUBA the same behaviors can happen as in freediving, and there would be no way to tell if the were upgrading without being their buddy. In addition every diver would return with a limit every time, this does not happen freediving. The weather, vis, and physical ability would become less of a barrier so there would be more divers in the water more often. Although you are not advocating for SCUBA only, it would be like SoCal, where SCUBA diving for Abs was allowed, and you would be lucky to see a legal Ab on a tank of gas.

This would more evenly distribute the fishing, but in no time the Ab population would be decimated and the limit would be 1 per year, if that. Imagine the pressure to upgrade to make sure you had the largest Ab possible if you could only take one.



Bob
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"This is scuba board, where problems are imagined or overstated......and chests get thumped about what some would do about those "problems" "- PullMyFinger

 

[Akimbo]

… As far as conservation is concerned, I don't see freediving as much help…

I frequently launch my kayak at one of the most heavily dove areas in the Mendocino County because it is close and has convenient access. It can be difficult to find a legal ab toward the end of the season … until you get deeper than 10-15'. Freediving has proven to be a significant barrier to the great majority of divers beyond that range.

 

[spoolin01]

I frequently launch my kayak at one of the most heavily dove areas in the Mendocino County because it is close and has convenient access. It can be difficult to find a legal ab toward the end of the season … until you get deeper than 10-15'. Freediving has proven to be a significant barrier to the great majority of divers beyond that range.

This is what I tell folks too. I recall snorkeling out at Van Damme State Park and seeing big abalone littering the bottom at maybe 20 ft depth. Van Damme has got to be one of the most heavily hunted spots in the state. Ocean Cove just south of Salt Point State Park is another like that. If you can dive beyond 15', you can limit on 8.5" abalone, about 150 yds from one of the most protected, accessible, and heavily hunted entry spots along the coast.

The other factor limiting take is simply the lack of access spots from shore along the entire coastline, and even by boat much of the coast is a long haul from a launch point.

 

[jcaplins]

Abalone repopulate in areas of heavy pressure and the areas that are left alone provide the seed. Another point is that from my experience over 40+ years, is there are a lot of legal Abalone in the areas that have high pressure because of their ability to "hide" and inability of a great number of divers to dive. As it is people an still walk out on the rocks on a low tide and find legal Abalone, this is allowed as well as freediving.




On SCUBA the same behaviors can happen as in freediving, and there would be no way to tell if the were upgrading without being their buddy. In addition every diver would return with a limit every time, this does not happen freediving. The weather, vis, and physical ability would become less of a barrier so there would be more divers in the water more often. Although you are not advocating for SCUBA only, it would be like SoCal, where SCUBA diving for Abs was allowed, and you would be lucky to see a legal Ab on a tank of gas.

This would more evenly distribute the fishing, but in no time the Ab population would be decimated and the limit would be 1 per year, if that. Imagine the pressure to upgrade to make sure you had the largest Ab possible if you could only take one.



Bob
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"This is scuba board, where problems are imagined or overstated......and chests get thumped about what some would do about those "problems" "- PullMyFinger

I would need to see some data, but recreational scuba can only be a small fraction of the SoCals Ab problems after it was too late. But your points are well taken and I can see how it wouldn't help now.
Thanks for responding.

 

[spoolin01]

I would need to see some data, but recreational scuba can only be a small fraction of the SoCals Ab problems after it was too late. But your points are well taken and I can see how it wouldn't help now.
Thanks for responding.

That's no doubt true, but I think with the very limited number of access sites, and the narrow habitat needs, immobility, and reproductive need for proximity of abalone, scuba would shortly wipe out availability of abalone to 99% of current ab hunters, even if it didn't threaten extinction per se.

There were many decades of commercial take of enormous numbers (quite a bit shorter span for recreational harvest I think, though I don't recall seeing relative harvest comparisons) that preceded the crash of abalone south of San Francisco, and no doubt other aspects of population dynamics played roles as well.

While rec take of most species is typically vastly out-done by commercial harvest, that's not invariably the case. Recreational rockfish take along the California coast is said to have roughly equalled commercial harvest for at least a few years in the late 90s or so, and I would expect abalone to be similar in that there's not much of a scaling advantage for commercial take. It's believable that a vastly greater numbers of rec hunters could have dominated the volume of harvest.

 

[Akimbo]

… There were many decades of commercial take of enormous numbers (quite a bit shorter span for recreational harvest I think, though I don't recall seeing relative harvest comparisons) that preceded the crash of abalone south of San Francisco, and no doubt other aspects of population dynamics played roles as well...

Sea Otters play a significant role in the crash of the Abalone population between the Northern Channel Islands and San Francisco. There was a commercial Abalone Fishery in Monterey and Carmel Bays during and before Cannery Row’s heyday. Granted, there were only a handful of divers in deep sea gear but Abalone were prevalent through the early 1950s. That coincides with the comeback of the Sea Otter.

Some of the better freedivers could still find Abs in the early 1960s but now they are rarely seen by Scuba divers larger than your fist. There are a lot of 2-4" Ab shells on the bottom though.

 

[spoolin01]

Sea Otters play a significant role in the crash of the Abalone population between the Northern Channel Islands and San Francisco. There was a commercial Abalone Fishery in Monterey and Carmel Bays during and before Cannery Row’s heyday. Granted, there were only a handful of divers in deep sea gear but Abalone were prevalent through the early 1950s. That coincides with the comeback of the Sea Otter.

Some of the better freedivers could still find Abs in the early 1960s but now they are rarely seen by Scuba divers larger than your fist. There are a lot of 2-4" Ab shells on the bottom though.

Good point that I forgot to mention. I've seen the scattering of 1-2" shells around Whaler's Cove in Carmel Bay. They make great treasures. Thankfully those adorable rapacious marauders don't seem eager to reestablish themselves north of the Gate, so far.

From what I recall, there was harvest around Monterey, and even Morro Bay and south, using skiffs and long gaffes, as well as the primitive dive gear. Most of what I think I know about historical take comes from A.L Lundy's fascinating book The California Abalone Industry. He shows take of 7M lbs/decade in the 1910s to 40M+/decade in the '50s and '60s, crashing to 20M in the '70s and 8M in the '80s.

I remember seeing two videos of an underwater pipeline somewhere in SoCal taken a year or two apart I think, showing decent abalone and other encrustation in the early vid, with the pipe denuded in the second, attributed to introduction of otters into the area. I also recall fishermen complaining of whichever department was pushing the relocation program (Feds?) not living up to their assurances that otter depredation (not sure of which all species) would be monitored and managed.

---------- Post added April 16th, 2015 at 01:51 PM ----------

Interesting tidbits and speculation about abalone evolution and population dynamics.Abalones May Owe Their Huge Size to Sea Otters

 

[Akimbo]

… From what I recall, there was harvest around Monterey, and even Morro Bay and south, using skiffs and long gaffes, as well as the primitive dive gear. Most of what I think I know about historical take comes from A.L Lundy's fascinating book The California Abalone Industry…

This is an interesting book specifically on the Monterey area that also discusses the Abalone industry. I really enjoyed it.

CANNERY ROW, The History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean View Avenue

Little River Inn near Van Damme has photos of the owner picking Abs from a dingy with a small gaff Circa 1940. Some photos and tools are on display in the bar. Abalone steaks were on the menu.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

"We realized with this study that most abalones are small, averaging 2 inches across, and live on coral reefs in the tropical Indopacific," Lindberg said. "So why does the world's largest abalone live in the same place as this major predator, the sea otter? We think the abundance of kelp, the ability of abalones to stay hidden in crevices, and the predation of otters set up an ideal system to ratchet up the size of abalones."

Abalones May Owe Their Huge Size to Sea Otters

 

[Sumper]

In about 1990 I worked in Santa Barbara CA as a diver for a company called Sea Farms. They were experimenting with growing abalone offshore on a large scale. Evidently it had not been done successfully before that time. The project was being sponsored I believe by one of the big universities, maybe Cal Tech. The operation was owned or managed by Oceaneering Int. / Bob Ratcliffe. I wonder if they are still operating?