Well, I haven’t shared to this blog in almost a year, and the A to Z Blog Challenge is here again, and I’m committed.
For my blog posts this month, I’ll be sharing my love of Mendocino County and of things I like to do here, such as research history, write, tinker, garden, and take pictures.
In October of 2016, I joined the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino as a volunteer where I research and write short pieces for the “Kelley House Calendar,” a column in the Beacon, our local newspaper. I’ll be sharing some previously written pieces and new subjects which come to mind.
I love comments, and promise to respond to any you leave me. If you are visiting from the A to Z Blog Challenge, please leave me your url so I can visit your blog, too.
Thanks and without further ado, here is my post for the letter A.
Abalone Love Part I
What do people and sea otters have in common? Well, for one thing, the love of a particular single-shelled mollusk more commonly known as the abalone.
What many people don’t realize is how Mendocino became a premier location for abalone fishing, nor do they realize how lucky we are that our wise predecessors conserved this resource for us—their future generation.
Delicious and desirable, abalone grew wherever kelp was available. Pomo people collected and ate it and used the iridescent shells for trade. When the Russians settled at Fort Ross in Sonoma, they inadvertently contributed to a future bounty by hunting the sea otter to the brink of local extinction. By eliminating the abalone’s main predator, the shellfish grew unchecked for several decades before Mendocino was discovered by outsiders.
With a growth rate of about one inch per year and a lifespan of 30 to 50 years, it is easy to imagine local tide pools littered with abalone the size of dinner platters, but the first settlers had no interest in the strange and oozing shellfish.
The Chinese are credited with starting the abalone fishery, recognizing a favorite delicacy from home. They began to collect this and other shellfish in massive quantities, drying and shipping them to San Francisco where they were sent on to China. Soon, fears that the area would be irreparably depleted, combined with a series of punitive laws including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, ended all commercial collection in the intertidal zone.
By the late 1800s, as the Chinese were being pushed out of the market, Japanese fishermen arrived, bringing with them the hard helmet and diving suit. With a continuous air supply, divers could reach the ocean floor, and it was not uncommon for them to collect up to 2300 abalone per day. Sam Ware, a student at Mendocino High School, observed the Japanese encampment at Dark Gulch and wrote that the diver “…takes down with him a net-like basket, which he sends up in about twenty minutes, another being sent down while it is emptied. This holds about all four men can lift into the boat.”
Once hoisted from the water, the abalone were cut from their shells, salted, rinsed, and dried in the sun before being packed and shipped in burlap sacks. Shells were sent to England, where they were made into buttons and other fancies, while others were used as inlay in furniture, their nacre (Mother-of-pearl) finish prized. Abalone pearls, when they were found, were made into pendants and other jewelry.
But, by the fall of 1913, in response to ongoing fears that abalone would disappear in the same manner as the sea otter, new and more stringent local laws ended commercial abalone fishing in Mendocino. While recreational fishing continued—sometimes harvesting enormous quantities—the local abalone fishery was spared the fate of Monterey and other central California coastal towns. And who gets the credit for that intervention? Well, that is the subject of Part II of this series.
(Previously published in the Beacon, Nov. 3rd, 2016 and at the Making History Blog of the Kelley House Museum.)
I didn’t know abalone was a delicacy. I’ve never eaten it, but had a little abalone jewelry box when I was a girl. So glad you’re doing the challenge. I will look forward to reading your blog this month!
Thank you. Fingers crossed that the month goes well. Sending you hugs and abalone!
I had never heard of abalone before. Thank you so much for sharing this bit of history with us.
Thanks. There are strange critters. I’m going to go check out your blog.
She’s baaaa-aaaaaack! Yay!!!! The blogosphere has missed your missives.
Abalone. I can safely say I’ve never eaten it before, though I’ve been intrigued by their rainbowy-craggy shells for years. If I’d had a vote, I’d probably have sided with keeping the otters instead. 🙂 But this is a great article, and I’m glad to see it reposted here!
Thank you for your kind words. In terms of abalone, much of it is farmed now and if nature has its way (which I believe it will) you will see the otters return in abundance once again. They were hunted to the point of extinction by the Russians who moved on to other things, leaving opportunity for the massive mollusks to reach their huge size. Thanks for reading.
Come back, cute sea otters, come back!
They can join your resident menagerie.
Trust me, they ARE coming.
Interesting tidbits as always. Glad to see you back.
Thank you. Hope life is good.
I have only eaten abalone in Tasmania, where they grow close to shore. I always learn from your posts. It’s wonderful to have you back!
Hey there. Hope you are well. Thanks for reading and commenting.
What an informative post! I didn’t know any of that. Thank you.
Thank you. I enjoyed writing it.
Welcome back! You have been missed. I’ve never had abalone, although I am a great fan of most things seafood. I might have to give it a try sometime.
Thanks for the welcome. Are you doing the A to Z challenge too? In terms of abalone, if you make it out to the coast, I will treat you to a (farmed) abalone steak.
I am doing the A to Z – I’m just a little behind (stupid internet that hasn’t worked in 3 months).
Abalone steak? I can’t wait!
Great to see you here again. I’m looking forward to learning lots during this challenge. ☺
Hey there! Hope you’re well. Are you doing the challenge too?
No, I’ll leave the challenge to you. I’ll just enjoy learning from your posts.
Yea! Glad to have you back. I always learn so much from your posts and I love the abalone shells, didn’t know they were edible. Great to see you writing again. Looking forward to reading more.
Hey there! Thanks for reading. I was just out there looking for your link to get to your post. Happy A to Z 2017!
This is so interesting!!! Looking forward to the next part.
Thank you for reading. I’m looking forward to the next part in your series.