Abalone Conservation

White Abalone Restoration project

Partnering with CDFW, NOAA and many aquaria and research groups UC Davis is central to the white abalone restoration program. Here at the Bodega Marine Lab we are home to the captive breeding program having worked with aquaculture facilities to enhance white abalone captive breeding and larval rearing methods with the lead of the captive breeding programs Dr. Kristin Aquilino. UC Davis and CDFW and their partners are working to release captive bred juveniles back into the wild to restore populations. In Nov. 2019 the program released its first ever juvenile white abalone into two sites in southern California. Ian Taniguchi and Laura Rogers-Bennett were dive buddies working as part of the larger team releasing juvenile white abalone (see 9 min video link). https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/divers-release-endangered-abalone-wild-first-time-boosting-odds-recovery