Saving an endangered species requires many steps and a lot of teamwork. 

​Photo Credit: Peter Hellberg

​Photo Credit: Peter Hellberg

Population Restoration of Abalone 

  • We are currently using a non-endangered species, the red abalone (pictured left) to test our methods before we place lab-reared endangered white abalone out into the wild. 
  • The Bodega Marine Lab in Bodega Bay, CA has mastered the art of captive breeding white abalone, and currently we estimate that more white abalone exist in that facility than exist in the wild. 
  • So far, we have conducted tests of our methods in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. We hope to outplant white abalone very soon!
​Photo Credit: Mitya Ku

​Photo Credit: Mitya Ku

Predators are a big barrier to abalone survival

  • Before we put any abalone out in the wild, we conduct extensive surveys of the surrounding habitat. 
  • We pay special attention to their predators, like octopus, lobster, Kellet's whelks, sea stars, cabezon, and sheephead fish. 
  • We also record potential abalone competitors, like urchins, as well as algae (their food) and habitat complexity (their shelter). If other adult abalone are around, that is a big plus because it means that abalone can successfully survive there, and there are future mating opportunities. 
 

Learn more about white abalone and check out some time lapse videos of abalone in the wild.

Uploaded by BodegaMarineLab on 2015-12-19.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife did an experimental release of red abalone during January 2016. Two of the time lapse cameras developed by SubAqua Imaging Systems and Pisces Design were used to record the release as it progressed over the first 48 hours.

The White Abalone Captive Breeding Program at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory works to restore endangered white abalone populations. This video shows the development of white abalone from fertilization to adult. For more information please see http://bml.ucdavis.edu/

Time-Lapse Video of a white abalone off San Diego coast during February, March and April 2015. Until recently, it was thought that no whites were left in the San Diego area. Thanks to the volunteer divers of the Abalone Recovery Project, several individuals have been found off the San Diego coast in the past eighteen months.