ABALONE

When I was a little kid, if you had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my unwavering reply would have been,  “a mermaid.”   Swimming underwater was my favorite free time activity.  Back then, and even still, I find myself perched on an inviting outcrop watching the incoming tide after a satisfying excursion. 

I have daydreamed more than once about being invited to join the underwater people. 

So far, no luck.

My ocean adventures here in Alaska began with abalone.

It wasn’t long after arriving in Sitka that I was invited by a co-worker to go out with her family on their boat to gather abalone.

I did not hesitate to accept the invitation. But, in all honesty, outside of pretty jewelry, I was totally unfamiliar with abalone.

Off we went heading south in a fast boat. 

It was a cool and cloudy Saturday in late August 1975.

After about a 30 minute ride, we arrived at our destination and dropped anchor. We grabbed a little gear and skiffed to the beach. The tide was extraordinarily low. I was given a quick lesson about locating and removing abalone. With goodie bag and wide screwdriver in hand, I was to hunt around in cracks, crannies and under seaweed. The final instruction was to try not to slip and fall too much.

I looked around for a short time where the ocean met the shore. But, in no time at all, I was overcome with the irresistible urge to head out a little, take the plunge and immerse myself in the ocean.

Having been raised on weary ocean shores south of Boston, I was absolutely thrilled at seeing such pristine waters and abundant sea life. It was mesmerizing! And very, very cold!

I remember thinking there and then that a wetsuit was in my future.

So back I went to the slippery shoreline, dripping wet. I kind of lost track of time for a while. Lost in Wonderland. But, sure enough, the tide started coming back up and snapped me out of it.

I was relieved that my hosts didn't complain about waiting around for me. I was pretty sure they were thinking I was a mindless idiot when I finally made my way back to them at the skiff. They pointed out that my lips were blue. In fact, I was shivering and nearly hypothermic. But hey! This was my introduction to abalone! And, after that brief lesson they gave me, I had excitedly located and pried a few large abalone free from their surprisingly tight grip on rocks! 
We zipped back to town with me wrapped in a blanket.

So it began. Abalone initiation. More importantly, my introduction to the enchanting ocean and shores surrounding Baranof Island.

And look at this! 

No more waiting around for an invitation from my imaginary underwater people...

I became a certified OPEN WATER DIVER...twice! 

My husband and I took the class together in 1985. 

Then, I repeated the class with my daughter in 2004. 

It was her senior project and a most refreshing experience!

No question about it. For over 20 years, scuba diving in this part of the world more than satisfied my mermaid yearnings.

I replaced my scuba diving with snorkeling the past few years.

 It simplifies things and is nearly as satisfying.

NORTHERN ABALONE

Haliotis kamtschatkana

The NORTHERN ABALONE are also known as SMALL NORTHERN ABALONE, PINTO ABALONE, JAPANESE ABALONE, KAMCHATKA ABALONE and ALASKAN ABALONE. Most people in the Sitka area simply refer to this unusual sea snail as ABALONE or Abs.


Way back in my early years in Sitka, the minimum size requirement for abalone was the same as today... 3 1/2 inches. The daily limit back then was fifty! Abalone was so plentiful! 
Nowadays abalone is comparatively scarce in our area. The daily limit is five (as set by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game - Alaska residents -  Personal Use/Subsistence Shellfish Regulations).

Double checking the size.
Four people. Nineteen abalone. Not bad.

The population of this species has declined in the past four decades pretty much everywhere they congregate. They live on the sea floor down to about 40 feet in ocean currents from California north to Yakutat, Alaska. Some are exposed and accessible at very low tides.

In the past it was sometimes said that these abalone were simply over harvested by people. There is more to the story. After sea otters were reintroduced to Southeast Alaska waters in the late 1960's, the sea otter population increased in leaps and bounds. 

And, yes, I and many other people think the sea otters are adorable. 

But, abalone is a favorite food of sea otters. And otters are far better than humans at locating abalone.

Although it is likely the major factor in the decline of abalone, predation by sea otters does not complete the story. There are other factors including:

• Male and female abalone need to group up to spawn. Abalone are mobile but don't tend to travel much. The fewer the abalone in the group, the fewer the larvae to settle in nearby coralline algae.
• It takes abalone as many as 8 years to mature feeding on marine algae... reproducing when they reach about 2 1/2 inches in length. 
• Abalone are capable of living up to 15 years. It is doubtful that many, if any, survive this long. Not only are they food for humans and sea otters, but abalone are eaten by other critters including river otter, mink, octopus, crab and sea stars.

Patiently waiting and watching out for his snorkeling wife.

Let's have a closer look at abalone here in the Sitka area.

Even if there are abalone nearby when you are on the hunt, you might not see them. They blend in very well with their surroundings. Abalone get easier to spot with practice.

An abalone in the center

Being one of the smallest species, the abalone found in this area can grow in length to six inches. It's rare to see many longer than 5 inches. 

There are 4 to six small holes along the outside edge of abalone shells. As abalone grow, the older holes fill in as new holes appear. These holes are multipurpose... reproduction, rinsing out waste and breathing.

Color wise, there are probably no two abalone that look alike. The shells are often a camouflage mixture of colors. Sometimes one color will be outstanding. Red, pink, tan, green. Besides differing by color, the shape can vary a bit. And, no telling what will be hitching a ride or growing on the outer shell!

So, after making certain that the abalone is 3 1/2 inches or more, pry it loose from its tight grip. Flip it over.





When zooming in on the photo above, one of the abalone's two tiny eyes can be seen in the photo below. It is the little round light blue spot. Abalone eyes detect light. The mouth, with a sensing tentacle on either side, can be located between the eyes. 













CLEANING ABALONE

A large, powerful, muscular foot takes up most of the space inside the abalone shell. This muscle is permanently attached to the shell. This muscle is what we eat.

• Cut the insides free from the shell with a flexible knife. Slide the blade in tight against the inside of the shell. Do this from the side of the shell that does not have a lip. Cut the abalone foot free from the shell interior. 
• Under the foot are some guts. It is easy to separate the guts from the foot. Discard the guts. You are left with the large edible foot. Seen below are the top and bottom views of the muscular foot.

• With a sharp knife, cut away the small mouth and eye section.
• Place all of your abalone in a bowl of fresh water to soak for a few hours... or over night in the refrigerator. After they soak in the fresh water, the black encircling the outside will wipe off easily with a clean cloth and more fresh water. This was a welcome discovery especially after watching people go to surprising extremes to remove the black coating... including washing machines!

COOKING ABALONE

The popular, quick, simple and delicious preparation for eating abalone:

• Slice thin.
• Tenderize the tough slices with a mallet or other useful tool. I use a big round beach stone.
• Coat slices with flour.
• Saute slices briefly on each side in a hot pan with butter or vegetable oil.

Because I was often cooking our abalone for a large number of people, I came up with a preparation that did not require slicing and pounding:

• Cut a dozen abalone into pieces.
• Place the pieces in a blender with a raw egg. 
• Blend until it looks smooth like pancake batter.
• Empty into a bowl.
• Thicken the mixture up with a little bit of white flour. Two or three tablespoons. 
•                   
• Drop a tablespoon or so of the mix into a bowl of  bread crumbs. Press flat with a fork as you coat both sides.
• If you want to make a burger size fritter, drop a four or five tablespoon sized blob into the bread crumbs. Flatten the blob with a fork as you coat both sides.
• 
• In an inch of medium hot oil in a pan on the stovetop, fry the "fritters" two or three minutes on each side until golden, crispy brown. It will probably take a little longer for the burger size fritter.

Delicious with a nice slaw or salad!