Tag: Black abalone
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Chasing the Wild Abalone: Confessions of a Field Biologist
To be honest, I love abalone and have always been fascinated by this most unusual of snails. In college I truly began to “chase the abalone” which led me to become a field biologist. So these are my confessions; some of my adventures while chasing abalone. Things I normally wouldn’t admit to but looking back…
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Island in the Stream: the Timeless and Haunting Beauty of Santa Cruz Island
A Haunting Beauty The first thing I noticed was the quietness. Standing on the cliff at the west end all I heard was the wind blowing off the ocean, the waves crashing on the shore, the gulls screaming in the air, all mixed with the smell of the sea. No cars, no trucks, no sounds of…
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The Abalone Song (or what to do while pounding the abs)
Abalone: from Sea to Table. Photo Credits: CBS SF News (left and right); Right Around We Go Blog (center). Abalone are definitely one of the most exquisite things to eat from the sea. Their sublime flavor is both buttery and slightly salty and tastes like a cross between a scallop and calamari. But it is even…
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Gone with the Tide: the Abalone Divers of Isla Natividad
During the summer of 1986 we embarked on the ultimate surfing ecology road trip. Combining my interests of surfing and marine biology we set off looking for abalone and good, uncrowded waves. I had just established study sites and tagged black abalone in northern and southern California. Baja was next.
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The Elephant Seals of Año Nuevo
The year was 1987 and I was searching for a place where black abalone were largely undisturbed so I could complete my dissertation. The island was the perfect location: isolated, difficult to access, federally protected, and surrounded by seal- and shark- infested waters. During my first low tide on the island I was ecstatic: blacks…
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The Rarest Mollusk: an Abalone with No Holes!
Since abalone are defined by their row of respiratory pores on the shell it is of course quite interesting that some individuals have been found that do not have them! These abalone, called imperforates, are extremely rare and only three are known for certain, all black abalone (Halotis cracheodii). A recent scientific paper published by Buzz…
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The Demise of the Black Abalone
To be honest, I love the abalone. Ever since I first saw one as a kid in the 1960s I have been fascinated by this most unusual of snails. Like most people I was first attracted to their taste; abalone are a real delicacy. However, the more I learned the more fascinated I became with…