Transcript Abalone on the Brink - :: CENTER FOR MARINE BIODIVERSITY

Abalone on the Brink
The high cost of being delicious.
Abalone species
• 56 species world wide
• Found in both tropical and temperate
coastal areas
• Tropical species are smaller than
temperate species
• Largest abalone is Haliotis rufescens, red
abalone found in California
Abalone life cycle
Blastula
Trochophore
Fertilized egg
Veliger
Sperm
Egg
Adult Male
Post-larval spat
Adult Female
Juvenile
Abalone Density and Recruitment
Abalone Shell
Lin and Meyers, 2004
Micro
Structure
Of
Abalone
Shell
Abalone Shell is sold world wide
Abalone Fisheries
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North America (7 species)
Asia (4 or 5 species)
Europe (1 species)
Australia (2 species)
New Zealand (1 species)
South Africa (1 species)
Abalone Aquaculture
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North America
South America (introduced species)
Japan
China
Thailand
Australia
South Africa
Hawaii
Iceland
Philippines
World Abalone Production (FA0)
35,000
30,000
Harvest
Aquaculture
METRIC TONS
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
YEAR
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
California Fishery
• Began in 1850s with Chinese immigrants
brought to California to work on railroads
• Focused around San Francisco and
Monterey
• Intertidal Red Abalone
• Japanese “Sake Barrel” divers extended
the fishery into subtidal depths
“Years ago, when the price was fifty cents a
dozen, it would not have been worthwhile to
bring them in, according to one diver, except
for the fact that a man could sit down on a
ledge and, without changing his position, fill
his basket from a single rock. Now a diver
must walk along the bottom and, if fortunate,
may fill his basket in half an hour.”
Ricketts and Calvin, Between Pacific Tides.
1939.
Red Abalone in Monterey Bay
Distribution
of West
Coast
Abalone
species
California species
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Red Abalone – Haliotis rufescens
Pink Abalone – H. corrugata
Green Abalone – H. fulgens
Black Abalone – H. cracherodii
White Abalone – H. sorenseni
Northern Abalone H. kamtschatkana
Flat Abalone – H. walallensis
Red Abalone
4,500,000
4,000,000
Landings (lbs)
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
1916
1921
1926
1931
1936
1941
1946
1951
1956
Year
1961
1966
1971
1976
1981
1986
1991
1996
Pink Abalone
3,500,000
3,000,000
Landings (lbs)
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
Year
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
Green Abalone
1,200,000
Landings (lbs)
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
Year
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
Black Abalone
2,500,000
Landings
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
Year
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
White Abalone
160,000
140,000
Landings (lbs)
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
1916 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997
Year
Red Abalone Fishery
at San Miguel Island
• Proposed fishery at San Miguel Island
• Initiated by California Abalone Association
• Cooperative Management similar to
Mexican Cooperativos
• 90-10 Split with Recreational Divers
• TAC of about 10,000 abalone
• Minimum Legal Size 8 inches
San Miguel Island
Positives
Stakeholder involvement – Co Managed
Cooperative has long term interest in
resource
Catch shares eliminate “Race to Fish”
Spatial Management
Negatives
• Population has not recovered throughout
Southern California
• Densities below MVP of recovery goals
• CDFG cannot afford to manage, monitor
or enforce fishery
• Recreational component hard to manage,
anyone can by a license.
Density vs. Nearest-Neighbor Distance
Density vs Aggregation Size
20.0
H. rufescens
18.0
H. kamschatkana
Average Aggregation Size (#)
16.0
14.0
H. corrugata
12.0
M. undosa
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
Average Density (/ha)
10000
12000
Endangered Species Act
of 1973
The purposes of this Act are to provide a means
whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered
species and threatened species depend may be
conserved, to provide a program for the
conservation of such endangered species and
threatened species, and to take such steps as
may be appropriate to achieve the purposes of
the treaties and conventions set forth in
subsection (a) of this section.
Critical Habitat
The term ‘‘critical habitat’’ for a threatened or endangered species
means—
(i) the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the
species, at the time it is listed in accordance with the provisions
of section 4 of this Act, on which are found those physical or
biological features (I) essential to the conservation of the species
and (II) which may require special management considerations
or protection; and
(ii) specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the
species at the time it is listed in accordance with the provisions
of section 4 of this Act, upon a determination by the Secretary
that such areas are essential for the conservation of the species.
Endangered and Threatened
Species
The term ‘‘endangered species’’ means any species which
is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant
portion of its range other than a species of the Class Insecta
determined by the Secretary to constitute a pest whose
protection under the provisions of this Act would present an
overwhelming and overriding risk to man.
The term ‘‘threatened species’’ means any species which is
likely to become an endangered species within the
foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of
its range.
Interaction of ESA species
Marine Species
• Secretary of Commerce
• (National Marine Fisheries Service)
• Except Sea Otters, Polar Bears and
Walrus
• Marine Mammal Protection Act 1972
White Abalone, Haliotis sorenseni
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First Marine Invertebrate listed under ESA
Last species described in NA (1940)
Deepest living abalone off West Coast
Most tender flesh and most desired
species
• May have been landed among pink
abalone prior to 1968
Background
• Found from Point Conception to Punta
Abriojos at 24-65 m (Leighton 1972)
• 1 of 6 abalone spp. fished historically
• Over 20 yr period decline of 3 orders of
magnitude (Davis et al. 1996, 1998)
• Status declared dire in late 90’s, and
Delta sub surveys estimated total
number of remaining individuals< 3,000!
(Davis et al. 1998; Hobday and Tegner 2000;
Lafferty et al. 2004)
Point
Conception
Channel Islands
Tanner Bank
Cortes Bank
Punta Eugenia
Figure 2. Former historic range of white abalone from Point Conception,
California, USA to Punta Abreojos , Baja California, Mexico.
• First marine invertebrate to be
listed as an endangered
species (NMFS 2001)
• Amount of available habitat in
CA & Baja estimated at 966
ha- rough estimate (Davis et
al. 1998; Hobday et al. 2001)
• Culturing attempts successful
but enhancement has not
been.
Survey Methods- available habitat
– Mapped by multi-beam sonar (CSUMB seafloor
mapping lab; SWFSC)
– Detailed bottom contour maps aid in abalone
survey site selection and provide an estimate of
amount of available habitat
– High accuracy (1-2 m resolution!)
Tanner Bank
Survey Methods- abalone populations
– Surveys by means of a Remotely Operated
Vehicle (ROV) and digital video camera
High resolution digital still camera for abalone
species confirmation
– Lasers for abalone size estimates
– Tracking system for positional data
– Depth sensor for depth distribution data
– Speed logger/distance calculator to quantify area
surveyed
– 3 Beam system to measure field of view
– All surveys recorded on tape for later review…
ROV Operations
- White Abalone
Pink Abalone -
Black Abalone
Current Population Status
Summary:
• >50% geographic range
in CA severely reduced
in abundance
Black Abalone
• Listed endangered under ESA in 2009
• Population decline due to disease and elevated
sea temperatures
• Pathogen destroys digestive gland
• RLP Rickettsiales-like Prokaryote
• RLO Rickettsiales-like Organism
• Transmitted by Oral – Fecal Contamination
• First Mass Mortality at Anacapa Is. 1985, but
declines at Palos Verde noted in 1970s
Wild
Black
Abalone
+/- WS
Red Abalone
+/- WS
Value of listing species
• Critical Habitat designation improves
chances of recovery
• Federal Agencies must consult with NMFS
concerning any action that impacts habitat
• NMFS and FWS must monitor listed
species and report status every 5 years
• Funding through NMFS and to States to
recover species