NOAA’s Tide to Table series profiles members of the aquaculture community who provide valuable jobs and access to fresh, sustainably sourced American seafood.
Food unlocks memories. For many Californians, the taste of abalone conjures memories of the 1960s—when you could legally harvest the shellfish and roast them over a beach fire. Unfortunately, the practice became too widespread, and unsustainable fishing levels caused steep declines in the population. The commercial fishery closed in the 1990s, followed by the recreational fishery in 2018.
Today, the only way to legally and sustainably eat abalone in California is by farming it. The Cultured Abalone Farm in Santa Barbara opened in 1989 to preserve part of California’s abalone culinary culture. What started as a backyard farm has grown into an important part of the community, bridging the gap to a cherished food source.
Devin Spencer plays a vital role in the farm’s mission. She started at The Cultured Abalone Farm cleaning tanks 7 years ago, inspired by her passions for marine science, education, and food systems. Since then, she has worked her way up to general manager and has become a jill of all trades. She spends her time learning how to fix the plumbing, testing new spawning techniques, and engaging with the community. Her hard work provides a sustainable food source and helps restore this iconic Californian shellfish.
Farming Abalone from Tide to Table
The Cultured Abalone Farm's main product is red abalone, sold live and whole primarily to restaurants in coastal California. They also offer purple sea urchin and red algae. The retail store at the farm is open to the public to buy products on Saturdays.
Abalone are single-shell gastropods, or sea snails, often known for their iridescent shells. They are called “kelp forest architects” because their grazing increases the biodiversity of their habitat. There are seven species of abalone found along the West Coast: red, pink, black, green, white, pinto, and flat. The red abalone is the largest and most commonly farmed.
In the hatchery, Devin’s team carefully triggers spawning and hand fertilizes millions of eggs. From the typically 12 million fertilized eggs, 300,000 to 450,000 abalone will reach adulthood and go to market.
The fastest growing abalone can be ready for harvest in 3.5 years, though some can take up to 15 years to reach larger market sizes. "It’s a lot of patience," Devin affirms, calling abalone farming a “labor of love.”
She and her team meticulously care for the animals, hand feeding, weighing, and sorting each individual. They aim to produce farmed abalone that is indistinguishable from those that were once recreationally harvested.
“The way we farm abalone, we try to be an extension of the ocean,” she says. The tanks mimic a natural habitat; the water filling the tanks is pumped from the Santa Barbara Channel. The seaweed the abalone graze on is grown onsite or wild harvested from the Santa Barbara Channel. “The product you receive is as close as it can be to wild harvesting without wild harvesting."
The primary edible portion of an abalone is the large, muscular foot. Devin describes the texture as between a scallop and calamari. Abalone also absorbs flavor well; her favorite garnish is chimichurri.
Abalone Outreach
In 2021, the Cultured Abalone Farm partnered with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center on an eeBLUE aquaculture literacy mini-grant project. Working with NOAA, the Cultured Abalone Farm developed high school-level education materials and designed exhibits at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center about abalone.
Since becoming general manager, Devin has focused on community outreach, inviting people to the farm to learn about abalone and aquaculture. She provides education and outreach opportunities to teach visitors where their food comes from. These include school programs, panels with chefs, and farm tours.
"Adults turn into little kids when they put their hands in the water and taste our products," Devin shares. She loves seeing visitors connect with food and learn about the people who provide it.
Restoring Wild Abalone Populations
Beyond reconnecting Californians to this sustainable and meaningful food source, The Cultured Abalone Farm is actively involved in local restoration efforts. They work with the Bay Foundation to outplant aquaculture-raised red abalone with wild genetics. Their collective goal is to outplant 40,000 red abalone along the coast, restoring this once-abundant population.
They also work closely with the white abalone program. NOAA and its partners developed this captive breeding program to raise white abalone that can be reintroduced into the wild. This partnership, which includes The Cultured Abalone Farm, is leading the way towards recovering wild populations.
Surveys show a 99 percent decrease in white abalone populations since the 1970s. Once numbering in the millions, the current population is on the brink of extinction and now estimated at less than 3,000 individuals. In fact, there are more white abalone in aquaculture farms than exist in the wild. The program is necessary to prevent the extinction of this keystone grazer by restoring populations until they can sustain themselves for generations of kelp forests to come.
Fun Fact
Abalone have multipurpose pores on their bodies for respiration, spawning, and waste elimination. These holes close as a new one opens, leaving the recognizable trail of progressively smaller holes on the shell.
Recipe: Mermaid-Style Abalone With Chimichurri
Ingredients
6 standard abalone
4 cloves garlic
½ stick butter
1 bunch of cilantro or parsley
1 shallot
⅛ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
salt
Steps
- Heat grill on high.
- Make the chimichurri: combine the shallot, red wine vinegar, and parsley or cilantro in a food processor. Add the olive oil and salt to taste.
- Melt the butter and garlic together.
- Clean the abalone under running water in their shells.
- With the abalone shell down, pour half of the garlic butter over the abalone.
- Place the abalone shell side down on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 minutes or until there are grill marks.
- Remove from heat and scoop the meat from the shell.
- Slice the abalone thinly, arrange back in the shell, and top with the reserved garlic butter. Top with the chimichurri and enjoy!
