This pinto abalone project has enabled Alaskan researchers to experiment with the best methodology for effective monitoring of this somewhat cryptic and mobile invertebrate.

We have consulted with top abalone scientists along all coasts of the Pacific Ocean to design our methods so that our results can be comparable to other regions.

Building from the knowledge we gained during our first field season of this project, Mike Donnellan of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game secured funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct similar surveys of pinto abalone populations near Ketchikan and Prince of Wales in summer 2016. These surveys occur in areas where otter populations and potential human harvest pressure differ greatly from each other and from Sitka Sound.