Endangered Species Act 5-year Status Review of White Abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)

The white abalone is a marine snail that occurs subtidally at depths of 5 to 60 meters (m) in waters off southern California and Baja California. They are broadcast spawners and relatively long-lived, with an estimated life span of 35 to 40 years. The species was listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2001. The primary threat to white abalone is the species’ low densities caused by historical overharvest. The species’ low densities have led to repeated recruitment failure and continued declines in abundance despite prohibitions on white abalone harvest in California since 1997 and in Mexico since 2003. In 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published the Final Recovery Plan for white abalone, to serve as a roadmap to guide recovery efforts. In 2016, NMFS published the Species in the Spotlight Five Year Action Plan for white abalone, highlighting the priority recovery actions for 2016-2020.