Northern abalone
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Northern abalone
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Order: Archaeogastropoda Family: Haliotidae Genus: Haliotis Species: H. kamtschatkana
Binomial name
Haliotis kamtschatkana (Jonas, 1845)

The northern abalone or pinto abalone, Haliotis kamtschatkana, is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones.

Shell description

The pinto abalone has an adult shell size of approximately 4 inches, but it can rarely grow as large as 6 inches. The shell is flattened and ear-shaped, and has 3 to 6 respiratory holes. The interior of the shell is iridescent.The shell is generally green-brown but can have white or blue coloration and has a somewhat scalloped edge. The epipodium is lacy and green-brown in color. Tentacles surrounding the foot and extending out of the shell sense food and predators.

Distribution

Pinto abalone are found in kelp beds along outer well-exposed coasts from Sitka, Alaska along the coast of Canada to Point Conception, California.

Habitat

This species lives on rocky shores. These abalones are found intertidally or subtidally near kelp to 30 feet (9 m) depth, but they can be found to 330 feet (100 m) depth. They are herbivorous.

Reproduction

They broadcast spawn from April to June. Larval dispersal is limited. Lifespan is about 15 years.

Conservation

Population size has declined due to overharvest, illegal harvest, predators, and disease. Because of concerns about its status the Northern Abalone is a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern. Species of Concern are those species about which the U.S. Government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The species is called pinto abalone by NMFS.

The state of Washington never permitted commercial harvest and recreation take was outlawed in 1994. Alaska outlawed commercial harvest in 1996.

Harvest has been illegal in Canada since 1990.^{citation needed} The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has listed it as a threatened species. The Canadian Species at Risk Act listed it in the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as being threatened in Canada.¹

This species is now endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, mainly due to uncontrolled harvesting and poaching of the species for food.

References

• McDougall, P.T., Ploss, J. & Tuthill, J. 2005. Haliotis kamtschatkana. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 07 August 2007.

External links

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