I went diving for abalone (a large, tasty mollusk) in the waters off the rocky coast of Northern California this past Labor Day weekend. It was a first for me and the experience was amazing. The ocean here is a frigid 55 °F, requiring thick full-body wetsuits, hoods and booties. These wetsuits are extremely buoyant and a diver has to wear weights (20 lbs or so) if he hopes to breach the surface. Abalone hang on the underside of rocks at depths of approximately 5 – 30 feet, securely fastened with a suction cup-like foot, quietly – and very slowly – munching kelp.
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| Abalone in cooler (left). Thinly sliced ab meat seasoned with pepper, ready to cook. |
Diving for abalone here is a challenge, due to both the physical requirements and Department of Fish and Game regulations. Only free diving is allowed (no scuba) and a stiff fine is exacted on divers taking juvenile abalone – those measuring less than 7-inches across. The water can be murky, at 10 ft the bottom is difficult to see and at 20 ft rubbery kelp strands descending into the grey abyss provide the only contrast. To reach the ocean floor, peer into a dark crevice, locate an abalone, measure it and pry it from the rock using an abalone iron in a single breath – and then reach the surface – is not for the faint of heart.
It’s rare one gets a second chance at an abalone. Upon detecting danger the giant snail clamps its shell against the rock, forming an impenetrable bond. Even the abalone iron – a steel trowel-like tool – is useless on an alerted specimen. The sport of ab’ diving is thrilling and veteran divers push themselves to dive deeper and stay down longer looking for a monsters in the hidden coves. A 10-incher is a trophy in Sonoma and Mendocino counties and many are mounted on local bait shop walls, proudly displayed like the horns of a great stag.
However, for all its sporting nature there are also more tragic reasons why abalone diving is a challenge in California. Through most of the 20
th century commercial fishers and recreational divers using scuba gear aggressively