I've hear so much of the reduction of Haliotis species across the West
Coast, I was wondering about the status of Haliotis cracherodiia? As species
listed as 'Fairly Abundant' and ranging from Coos Bay, Oregon to Baja
California as well as being a littoral species I would suspect that it would
be a fairly easy species to monitor. With such a large range across the West
coast it would seem that possibly some populations would be hit and others
ok.  My understanding is that this species wasn't hunted much commercially.
 If it is a species under threat from global warming, are populations
further north in Oregon doing ok?  If truly the whole species has crashed is
it possibly the effect of a pathogen or perhaps the loss of its algal food
sources (the latter would seem unlikely).

I say all of this without much first-hand knowledge.  In three trips in over
25 years to parts of California, I've never found so much as a fragment of
any Haliotis species, let alone a live one in the sub-tidal zone (although
admittedly I haven't been there during Spring Tides).  So I'd appreciate any
info from those of you from the West-Coast particularly if you've witnessed
this species reduction.

Thank you.

Doug

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