#haliotidae

Haliotis discus

An abalone found in shallow subtidal waters off Japan and Korea in the north western Pacific Ocean.

(California) Abalone!

Made it so that the video doesn’t send you to Instagram, hehe…

AKA Rainbow Abalone.

Aoteoroa's largest abalone.

Pāua poaching is a problem in New Zealand with many thousands being taken illegally, often undersized. Legally, no single person may have more than 20 shells in their possession or more than 2.5 kg of shucked meat. It is also illegal to dive for pāua using scuba equipment. Serious convictions have lead to seizure of diving gear, boats, and motor vehicles as well as large fines and in rare cases, imprisonment. So whoever dropped this one on the beach was being annoyingly wasteful.

The iridescent shell is prized as a cultural treasure, and captive Pāua can be used to grow Pāua pearls around artificial nuclei.