Haliotis corrugata
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The Pink abalone, scientific name Haliotis corrugata, is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones.
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Range
Pink abalones can be found along the Pacific coast of North America from Point Conception, California to Bahia de Santa Maria, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Shell description
The shell is thick and characterized by strong corrugations and is more circular than other U.S. abalones. There are 2 to 4 open respiratory apertures with edges that are strongly elevated above the surface of the shell. The epipodium is a “ruffle” of tissue along the side of the foot. The head and epipodial tentacles are black, but the epipodial fringes are a mottled black and white, with many tubercles on the surface and a lacy edge.
Habitat
This species occupies sheltered waters at depths between 20 and 118 feet (6 - 36 m). They are herbivores, feeding on kelp and drifting algae.
Predators
Predators of this species other than mankind are sea otters, sea stars, large fish, and octopus.
Diseases
Pink abalones are subject to a chronic, progressive and lethal disease: the Withering Syndrome or abalone wasting disease, leading to mass mortality.
Reproduction
Pink abalone have separate sexes and broadcast spawn from March to November. Maturity is reached at about 1.4 inches (35 mm) length or 3 to 4 years. Lifespan is up to 30 years or more.
Threats and Conservation
Pink abalone are threatened by historic overharvesting, illegal harvesy, the Withering abalone syndrome disease, and climate change. In 1996 the California Department of Fish and Game closed the commercial and recreational abalone fisheries in California, but populations continued to decline. California has a Abalone Recovery Management Plan to guide conservation efforts.
The pink 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 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 (ESA).
Information regarding the status of pink abalone in Mexico is scant. A commercial fishery for pink abalone is still in place in Mexico and is managed by local cooperatives.
References
- Oliver APH The Hamlyn Guide to Shells of the World, ISBN 0-600-56577-7
External links
- Gastropods.com
- Withering Syndrome in Black Abalone