Status of Red Abalone Recovery in Southern California

Date: October 8, 2008
Contact: Yvonne Menard, 805-658-5725

During the October “From Shore to Sea” lectures, Ian Taniguchi, a senior biologist with California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), will speak about abalone recovery following an over 10-year closure of this fishery in southern California. He will describe the State plans for abalone recovery including consideration of a possible limited fishery for red abalone at San Miguel Island.

Taniguchi will describe the decline and current state of five species of abalone and the current state of Abalone Recovery and Management Plan (ARMP) that was adopted by the California Fish and Game Commission in 2005 as a framework for abalone recovery and management. Recently, the commission directed the CDFG to explore the possibility of a limited fishery for red abalone at San Miguel Island, which is within an abalone fishing moratorium area established in 1997 to protect the severely depleted populations. 

Taniguchi will describe how the once lucrative red abalone fishery at the Channel Islands collapsed in the early 1990s, explain the reasons behind the current moratorium, and options being considered for a fishery at San Miguel Island.

In his over sixteen-year career with CDFG Taniguchi has studied and managed marine invertebrate fisheries, including sea urchin and abalone. He currently serves as the statewide coordinator for implementation of abalone recovery and management efforts. He is a certified SCUBA diver and has broad experience diving throughout the Channel Islands and California.

The “From Shore to Sea” lecture series is jointly sponsored by Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary with generous support from Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. The purpose of the series is to further the understanding of research on the Channel Islands and surrounding waters. The lectures will occur at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, at Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way in the Santa Barbara Harbor and Wednesday, October 15, 2008, at the Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, 1901 Spinnaker Drive in the Ventura Harbor. The programs are free and open to the public.