April 21, 2014 — The Navy is working to protect Black Abalone, listed in the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Black Abalone inhabit the rocky intertidal areas of the Channel Islands in Southern California, including San Clemente Island and San Nicolas Island, important Navy facilities.
To avoid potential negative impacts to the environment, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) created an innovative restoration program to increase the number of disease-resistant Black Abalone within impacted areas.
The primary factors leading to the decline of Black Abalone are overfishing and disease, specifically, withering syndrome. Other factors responsible for the decline are illegal harvesting and habitat destruction. Natural predation by various predators, including sea starts, Southern sea otters, and striped shore crabs, as well as competition for space with purple and red sea urchins has also led to the drastic decline of Black Abalone.
SSC Pacific initially began working with Black Abalone in the late 1990s, testing their larvae for antifouling properties that could be used to replace toxic materials.
"At the time, we felt that our laboratory at SSC Pacific could also be used for growing the larvae to adult-sized abalone in an effort to increase depleted abalone numbers in offshore waters," said Dave Lapota, SSC Pacific scientist who is leading this preservation effort. "Based on our initial undertaking, we realized that we could increase the abundance of remaining populations by transplanting adults offshore in affected areas, thereby increasing recruitment to the impact populations."