Red Abalone

At a glance

Red Abalone (Haliotis rufescens) is an IUCN Critically Endangered abalone regulated in 6 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

The strictest bag limit is 1 (Federal Waters (DFO)); the most generous is 5 (Alaska).

Confirmed by 2,841 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with California, Oregon, and British Columbia the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• The largest abalone in North America, with shells reaching 12 inches (30 cm).
• Has only 3–4 open respiratory holes — fewer than any other North American abalone.
• Can live 35–40 years or longer in healthy kelp forest habitat.
• Its thick, richly flavored meat is considered a prized West Coast seafood delicacy.
• Found from southern Oregon to Baja California on rocky, kelp-covered reefs.

Where Red Abalone are seen

• California2,817 iNat obs
• Oregon21 iNat obs
• British Columbia2 iNat obs
• Washington1 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Red Abalone

• AlaskaUnited States · official source
• British ColumbiaCanada · official source
• CaliforniaUnited States · official source
• Federal Waters (DFO)Canada · official source
• OregonUnited States · official source
• WashingtonUnited States · official source

Background

Haliotis rufescens (red abalone) is a species of very large edible sea snail in the family Haliotidae, the abalones, ormer shells or paua. It is distributed from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California, Mexico. It is most common in the southern half of its range.

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Red Abalone article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other abalone on CatchRules

• Pinto AbaloneHaliotis kamtschatkana
• Pink AbaloneHaliotis corrugata