Hi all:

We dove for abalone for years while we were in Caifornia.  Always taking
only the limit size, and obeying the laws.    Some of the best eating
there is...I knew all the Abalone recipes.

We also watched the commercial abalone divers come in off Santa Barbara
with their boats just piled high with abalone.  It doe stake about 5-7
years for an abalone to mature to a good size.

One law that was put into affect was protecting the Sea Otter.  The Sea
Otter lives in abalone.   The Sea Otter population now is immense....and
guess what they are thriving on?    AND it takes a "miracle" to get the
protection law taken off of anything!

Pollution definitely is a BIG part of the abalone situation.  AND I am
sure it is the problem with Strombus gigas also.

In the Bahamas (where we collect 5-6 times a year)  there is STILL
Strombus gigas absolutely everywhere...and the Bahamians bring in boat
loads of them every day and have done so for centuries.    The Bahamians
also do not use a lot of chemicals....they don't renourish their
beaches....everything is left natural (as God intended) even with the
Hurricanes, storms, etc.

Just had to get my TWO-CENTS in!

Bobbi Cordy
Merritt Island FL
Astronaut Trail Shell Club