Hi Tom,
In answer to your question on how the California abalone population has
fared. I can answer that one. Not well. I have been a part time skipper on a
dive charter boat in Southern Cal for over 25 years. I have seen the
increasing demise of all species of abs over that period of time. I have
watched the increasing restrictions imposed by the Dept of Fish and Game
have no impact on restoration of the populations. Many  of our ab species
experienced a disease commonly refereed to as "shrinking foot disease" where
the animal actually became emaciated. This must have been environmental. No
amount of collecting restrictions will cure this. I only hope that this is a
cyclic phenomenon and eventually the population will rebound.
----- Original Message -----
From: Thomas E. Eichhorst <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 9:40 PM
Subject: Re: Images and pictures...


> Masashi,
>
> I agree, large conspicuous adults could be over-collected and the
population
> decimated (which really means only a tenth is destroyed but has become
> something more).  I also agree that each species is unique and would
respond
> in a unique fashion to extinction pressures.  My point is not that it
> couldn't happen but that I do not think that was the critical pressure on
> Strombus gigas (and I'm not sure about Turbo marmoratus or any of the
> Tridacnids either).  Certainly, the pressures are greater on a long lived
> and slow to mature species than on a species that matures in months.  My
> country certainly proved you can hunt a large conspicuous animal to the
> brink of extinction -- e.g. the American bison.  My point (however fuzzy)
> was that there are any number of factors or pressures or whatever you want
> to call them that may cause a species to become extinct.  And certainly,
we
> need to pay attention to all of them.  Which means not getting all worked
up
> and passing laws against collecting because this is an easy fix (not
> necessarily an effective one) while ignoring the hard to do fixes like
> development and polution.  I wonder with all of the collecting laws and
bans
> in California, how the Haliotis population has fared?
>
> Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA (the extinction pressure here is against
us
> as we use up the water)