Emergency Abalone Regulations

Here are the proposed emergency Abalone regulations from the Fish and Game Commission:


Statement Of Proposed Emercency Regulatory Action
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/regulations/2016/29_15es.pdf

Proposed Emergency Regulatory Language
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/regulations/2016/29_15eregs.pdf

Thanks for the links LC.

I have a feeling the poachers are gonna have a great year next year

Well another decline in our ab catch.  However, the State seemed to know what they were doing with the lingcod population.  Several years ago you could only keep lings 34 inches and over.  Now we have a vibrant ling population. 

I don't want Northern California to become like Southern California when speaking of abalone--it's just a memory for them.



 

Well another decline in our ab catch.  However, the State seemed to know what they were doing with the lingcod population.  Several years ago you could only keep lings 34 inches and over.  Now we have a vibrant ling population. 

I don't want Northern California to become like Southern California when speaking of abalone--it's just a memory for them.

This has been a very touchy topic.  I don't think the state is getting this one right even if the lings are doing better.  It is an emergency reduction so we do have time to get better data before they try to make it permanent. 

They say there isn't enough kelp to support the Abalone that we do have.  So reducing the take so they die from starvation is their answer. 

It's more complicated than that. The trouble is that Abs only release a couple hundred eggs and IIRC they actually have to couple when mating and the eggs get laid onto the stems at the base of the kelp. That's versus their #1 competitor, the sea urchin, who simply release 100,000 eggs at a time into the water, whereupon a male freely gizzes sperm into that same area, and then the fertilized eggs drift far and wide until they stick to something. Clearly, the urchins have a huge advantage here that is normally kept in check by healthy sea otter populations that have now been wiped out.

Wanna help the abs?  Harvest uni and take steps to boost the otter populations.


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are the eggs laid at the base of one kelp plant as in a clutch or at base of several diferent plants ? will a 9 or10 ab lay more eggs than a 7 or 8 inch ab ?

are the eggs laid at the base of one kelp plant as in a clutch or at base of several diferent plants ? will a 9 or10 ab lay more eggs than a 7 or 8 inch ab ?

Aiming for a slot limit on abs?

It's more complicated than that. The trouble is that Abs only release a couple hundred eggs and IIRC they actually have to couple when mating and the eggs get laid onto the stems at the base of the kelp. That's versus their #1 competitor, the sea urchin, who simply release 100,000 eggs at a time into the water, whereupon a male freely gizzes sperm into that same area, and then the fertilized eggs drift far and wide until they stick to something. Clearly, the urchins have a huge advantage here that is normally kept in check by healthy sea otter populations that have now been wiped out.

Wanna help the abs?  Harvest uni and take steps to boost the otter populations.


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Can you share where you got that info on abalone be reproductive process from?  Everything I've read says abalone are broadcast spawners.

It's more complicated than that. The trouble is that Abs only release a couple hundred eggs and IIRC they actually have to couple when mating and the eggs get laid onto the stems at the base of the kelp. That's versus their #1 competitor, the sea urchin, who simply release 100,000 eggs at a time into the water, whereupon a male freely gizzes sperm into that same area, and then the fertilized eggs drift far and wide until they stick to something. Clearly, the urchins have a huge advantage here that is normally kept in check by healthy sea otter populations that have now been wiped out.

Wanna help the abs?  Harvest uni and take steps to boost the otter populations.


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Can you share where you got that info on abalone be reproductive process from?  Everything I've read says abalone are broadcast spawners.

+10

Same for me. Here is one description:
http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/06future/abrepro.htm

Excerpted-

Abalone Reproduction and Growth

Abalone are separate sexed. The sex of a live abalone can be determined by holding the abalone out of the water with the holes along the bottom. The abalone will usually get tired and fall to the side so that the reproductive organ (on its right side) can be seen tucked between the mantle and the shell. If you look through the mantle tissue you can tell if it is a female (green reproductive organ) or male (beige reproductive organ).


Abalone broadcast spawn, releasing their reproductive products into the ocean. The eggs or sperm are released into the same area where the gills and anus are located. There is always a gentle flow of water out of this area and the eggs or sperm are washed out through the holes in the shell by this respiratory/sanitation current. If the mantle cavity, under the holes, gets too full of eggs or sperm the abalone may raise its shell up then quickly pull down, creating a squirt of water out of the holes. This may happen a couple of times to clear the eggs or sperm from the gill area. The exact reason that starts an abalone to spawn in nature is not known.


Fertilization occurs in the ocean water. In general when one abalone spawns in an area the others usually start as well. This ensures a large number of eggs and sperm in the same water mass which increases the probability of fertilization. But, fertilization is still left to chance.


The fertilized egg (zygote) develops to a typical gastropod larval form called a veliger. These microscopic veligers 'sink and swim' in the ocean and are ready to take up benthic (bottom dwelling) life in about 7-14 days. They do not require any food during this time, making them an ideal animal for mariculture.


When competent the veligers will sink and test the substrate. When the proper substrate is encountered they will stay and stop their 'sink and swim' planktonic existence. For most microscopic planktonic marine larvae (of benthic, bottom dwelling, adults) there is some chemical cue that causes them to stop swimming and stay on the bottom. For abalone this chemical is GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a chemical found in coralline algae.

Thank You Fisherman X for providing those well known facts related to abalone reproduction. 

After more than a decade working at the abalone farm in Davenport, I have an "intimate" knowledge on the subject, at least in a farm environment. 

I am happy to share any of my experiential knowledge on the subject of abalone reproduction and land based culture techniques. 

-Johnny Abalone \ooo/

Same for me. Here is one description:
http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/06future/abrepro.htm

Excerpted-

Abalone Reproduction and Growth

Abalone are separate sexed. The sex of a live abalone can be determined by holding the abalone out of the water with the holes along the bottom. The abalone will usually get tired and fall to the side so that the reproductive organ (on its right side) can be seen tucked between the mantle and the shell. If you look through the mantle tissue you can tell if it is a female (green reproductive organ) or male (beige reproductive organ).


Abalone broadcast spawn, releasing their reproductive products into the ocean. The eggs or sperm are released into the same area where the gills and anus are located. There is always a gentle flow of water out of this area and the eggs or sperm are washed out through the holes in the shell by this respiratory/sanitation current. If the mantle cavity, under the holes, gets too full of eggs or sperm the abalone may raise its shell up then quickly pull down, creating a squirt of water out of the holes. This may happen a couple of times to clear the eggs or sperm from the gill area. The exact reason that starts an abalone to spawn in nature is not known.


Fertilization occurs in the ocean water. In general when one abalone spawns in an area the others usually start as well. This ensures a large number of eggs and sperm in the same water mass which increases the probability of fertilization. But, fertilization is still left to chance.


The fertilized egg (zygote) develops to a typical gastropod larval form called a veliger. These microscopic veligers 'sink and swim' in the ocean and are ready to take up benthic (bottom dwelling) life in about 7-14 days. They do not require any food during this time, making them an ideal animal for mariculture.


When competent the veligers will sink and test the substrate. When the proper substrate is encountered they will stay and stop their 'sink and swim' planktonic existence. For most microscopic planktonic marine larvae (of benthic, bottom dwelling, adults) there is some chemical cue that causes them to stop swimming and stay on the bottom. For abalone this chemical is GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a chemical found in coralline algae.

Sighhh, so goes the memory muscle. Thank you very much for the correction.


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Thank You Fisherman X for providing those well known facts related to abalone reproduction. 

After more than a decade working at the abalone farm in Davenport, I have an "intimate" knowledge on the subject, at least in a farm environment. 

I am happy to share any of my experiential knowledge on the subject of abalone reproduction and land based culture techniques. 

-Johnny Abalone ooo/

Okay, always better to have an expert. So how many eggs does a typical female release at a time and how does their gestation period compare to the urchins?  Also, what's the solution to the otter populations?


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A 1.5 inch abalone may spawn 10,000 eggs or more at a time, while an 8 inch abalone may spawn 11 million or more.

According to: fishtech.com