State OKs 120-Day Ban on Harvest of Red Abalone

State authorities Tuesday approved an emergency ban on fishing for red abalone from San Francisco to the Mexican border, heeding the arguments of biologists and environmentalists who said the marine organism needs protection.

The Fish and Game Commission approved the 120-day moratorium to safeguard dwindling populations of red abalone in coastal waters, despite complaints from commercial fishers that the ban would cripple the industry.

In some cases, the populations have declined as much as 75% during the past two decades, biologists said.

According to testimony, the cost of abalone has soared in recent years, fetching as much as $85 per pound retail in Southern California. The economics of abalone fishing has kept the industry profitable, but also has contributed to widespread poaching, experts said.

Opponents to the ban were led by the California Abalone Assn., which said the state’s science was flawed--in part because more divers harvested abalone in past years, giving the appearance of declining numbers in recent years.

“We’re asking the commission not to terminate the abalone industry,” said California Abalone Assn. attorney Ilson New.

The ban affects both commercial and sport abalone harvesting from San Francisco to the Mexican border. Commercial harvesting already is prohibited north of San Francisco.

The abalone, once plentiful, clings to rocks by day and at night feeds on plants it scrapes with its tongue.

The annual harvest of 5 million pounds in the 1950s plunged to 260,000 pounds in 1995. The crash has been blamed on pollution, over-harvesting, poachers and sea otters.