Sitka, Alaska to Baja, California. Found in intertidal and sublittoral zones. Abalones are found on rocks and fissures where abundant drift algae are present.

HABITS:

Young eat diatoms, unicellular algae, and coralline algae. Juveniles and adults eat macroalgae like Ulva and Macrocystis but algae of preference differ by species. Abalones also eat hydrozoans, copepods, foraminifera, and bryozoans.

SPAWNING:

Eggs are released into the water and sink to the bottom and hatch in about a day. Then velegers emerge and swim in the water column 5-14 days before settling again to the substrate. Fecundity can be as high as 100,000 to 2.5 million eggs per day.

GROWTH:

The abalone grows slowly and may take 2-3 years until a ready size for market. Juveniles are seeded into natural waters at 1.5 to 3 cm. in size.

USES:

The muscular foot of the abalone is a high valued seafood item. They are commercially important in Hawaii and along the pacific coast of the U.S.A. There is a strong market for abalone due to its desirable taste and overfishing of wild populations.

CULTURE:

Velegers are transferred to settling tanks where they are presented with substrate on which a film of diatoms and sometimes red algae have been developed. Young abalones are switched to a diet of other types of microalgae when they reach about 0.5 cm. Once abalone reach 1.5 –3 cm. they are generally used to seed ocean water bottoms. However, they can also be grown in tanks, suspended cages and baskets.

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