Long before the advent of Man, Bleu Cheese, and waxed paper, the Otter and
the Abalone lived together off the California coast. It's been about 20,000
years or since the end of the last ice age (whichever came first). My
suggestion would be to leave the Otters alone, collect Abs somewhere else,
and develop a taste for peanut butter and jelly.
                Art

Bobbi Cordy wrote:

> 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