Abalone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Abalone
A living abalone
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Superfamily:	Haliotoidea
Family:	Haliotidae Rafinesque, 1815
Genus:	Haliotis Linnaeus, 1758

A piece of abalone shell

Abalone are a type of sea snail or shellfish. Their name comes from the Spanish word Abulón.

Abalone are famous for the beautiful, colorful inside of their shells. People in different places have special names for them. For example, they are called "ear-shell" in Guernsey, perlemoen in South Africa, and pāua in New Zealand.

Many people around the world enjoy eating abalone meat. It is a popular food in parts of Latin America (especially Chile), Southeast Asia, and East Asia (like China, Japan, and Korea).

Discover Abalone: Sea Snails with Shiny Shells

The raw meat of abalone

Abalone live in oceans all over the world. You can find them along the coasts of almost every continent. They are not found on the Atlantic coast of South America, in the Caribbean, or on the East Coast of the United States.

Most abalone prefer cold waters. They are common along the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Western North America, and Japan.

What Abalone Look Like

Abalone shells are usually round. They have two or three spirals that grow into a large, ear-like shape. This is why they are sometimes called "ear-shells."

The inside of an abalone shell is very shiny. It can be silvery white, green, or red. This beautiful inner layer is called mother-of-pearl.

Abalone with a live sponge on its shell

Abalone Life and Diet

Abalone can start having babies when they are quite small. They produce many eggs at once, from 10,000 to 11 million!

Young abalone, called larvae, eat tiny floating organisms called plankton. Adult abalone are plant-eaters. They mostly feed on algae, especially red algae.

Abalone can be very small, about 20 millimeters (less than an inch). But some can grow quite large, up to 200 millimeters (about 8 inches).

The iridescent inside surface of an abalone shell

The Strong Abalone Shell

The shell of an abalone is incredibly strong. It is made of tiny pieces of calcium carbonate. These pieces are stacked together like bricks. Between these layers is a sticky protein substance. This special structure makes the shell very tough.

The colorful inside of the abalone shell is often used for decoration. It can be made into beautiful inlays for things like guitars.

Harvesting Abalone: Where and How

Two highly endangered white abalone. It is illegal to catch them.

People around the world harvest abalone for food and their shells. However, rules are in place to protect them.

Abalone in Australia

Tasmania, an island in Australia, provides about 25% of the world's yearly abalone harvest. Around 12,500 people in Tasmania fish for blacklip and greenlip abalone for fun.

Abalone in the United States

Workers drying abalone shells in the sun in southern California, circa 1900

In California, people can catch red abalone for sport. You need a fishing license and an abalone stamp card.

The abalone season usually runs from May to October, but not in July. It is against the law to sell abalone caught for sport, even their shells. Only red abalone can be taken. Other types, like black, white, pink, flat, green, and pinto abalone, are protected by law.

People who dive for abalone often wear thick wetsuits, including a hood, boots, and gloves. They also use a mask, snorkel, weight belt, an abalone iron, and a special gauge to measure the abalone.

Museum exhibit of women collecting seafood such as abalones, conch, shellfish in Korea

Sometimes, people can find abalone by feeling under rocks at low tide. Abalone are usually found in shallow waters, from a few inches to about 10 meters (33 feet) deep. Some skilled freedivers can go even deeper.

Abalone are often found on rocks near their food sources, like kelp. Divers use an abalone iron to carefully pry the abalone off the rock before it can clamp down tightly. Divers can go from boats, kayaks, floating tubes, or directly from the shore.

Abalone in New Zealand

A paua shell bracelet

In New Zealand, abalone are called pāua, which is a Māori language word. The "blackfoot pāua" found in New Zealand has a very shiny shell. This shell is popular for souvenirs because of its amazing blue, green, and purple colors.

If you are fishing for fun in New Zealand, you do not need a special permit to catch pāua. However, you must follow rules about how many you can catch, their size, and any seasonal or local limits. These rules are set by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

Abalone in South Africa

Haliotis midae

The largest abalone in South Africa is called Haliotis midae. It lives along about two-thirds of the country’s coastline.

Diving for abalone has been a popular activity for many years. However, the number of abalone is now at risk because of illegal commercial harvesting. In South Africa, everyone who harvests abalone needs a permit that is given out each year. It is also against the law to use scuba gear to catch abalone.

Abalone in the Channel Islands

Haliotis tuberculata

The Haliotis tuberculata abalone is considered a special food in the British Channel Islands and nearby parts of France.

Because of too much harvesting and a recent disease, the number of these abalone has dropped a lot since the late 1800s. Now, strict rules are in place to help protect them.

Decorative Uses of Abalone Shells

Abalone jewelry

The very shiny inner layer of the abalone shell has been used for decoration for a long time. It is made into jewelry, buttons, and inlays for furniture and musical instruments like guitars.

Abalone pearl jewelry is very popular in New Zealand and Australia. This is partly because pearl companies have worked hard to market and farm them.

Guitar frets with decorative Abalone shells

Unlike other pearls, abalone pearls are not judged by how round they are. The inside of the abalone shell has an amazing iridescent swirl of bright colors. These colors can be deep blue, peacock green, purple, cream, and pink. This means that every abalone pearl, whether natural or farmed, will have its own unique mix of colors.

Abalone in Native Cultures

An abalone farm

Abalone has been an important food for native cultures around the world. This is especially true in Africa and on the North American West coast. The meat was eaten, and the shells were even used as money by many tribes.

Abalone Farming

People have tried to grow abalone in special farms for eating. This process is called aquaculture.

Images for kids

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  Abalone hatchery

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  Multi-Species Fish and Invertebrate Breeding and Hatchery, (Oceanographic Marine Laboratory, Lucap, Alaminos, Pangasinan, Philippines, 2011)

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  A young Japanese Abalone Diver in California in 1905

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  Haida carving with rectangular abalone shell accents

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  Abalone sashimi

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  Braised abalones

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  Abalones with asparagus

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  Grilled abalones

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  A Korean abalone stew

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  Abalone Hoe

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  Abalone with mandarin orange peels.

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  Abalone (dish) - in Macau

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  The pink abalone, Haliotis corrugata

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  The black abalone, Haliotis cracherodii

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  The white abalone, Haliotis sorenseni

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  A shell of Haliotis varia form dohrniana

See also

In Spanish: Bào yú para niños