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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------