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Home/Species/ Pinto Abalone

Haliotis kamtschatkana

Jonas, 1845

Pinto Abalone

G4Apparently Secure Found in 22 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
EndangeredIUCN
HighThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.113951
Element CodeIMGASV2040
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal
IUCNEndangered
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderArchaeogastropoda
FamilyHaliotidae
GenusHaliotis
Other Common Names
Northern Abalone (EN) Ormeau nordique (FR)
Concept Reference
Geiger, D. L. and G. T. Poppe. 2000. Haliotidae. Pp. 61-62 in Poppe, G. T. and K. Groh (Eds.). Conchological Iconography. ConchBooks, Weisbaden. 135 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
McLean (1966) and Geiger and Poppe (2000) recognize the northern Haliotis kamtschatkana kamtschatkana and southern H. k. assimilis as subspecies; considered separate species by others (Kozloff, 1983; Sloan and Breen, 1988; Turgeon et al., 1998), based on distribution and morphological characteristics. Between San Luis Obispo and Point Conception in central California, H. k. kamtschatkana intergrades with H. k. assimilis (Geiger and Poppe, 2000).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-01-31
Change Date2025-01-31
Edition Date2025-01-31
Edition AuthorsCordeiro, J. (2010); rev. T. Cornelisse (2025)
Threat ImpactHigh
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Despite large historical declines, there are many occurrences of this species throughout its large range, but it continues to be threatened by illegal harvesting and climate change.
Range Extent Comments
This species occurs in British Columbia, Canada and in the United States from southern Alaska to northern Washington and from southern Oregon to Baja California, Mexico (NOAA 2014; GBIF 2025; InvertEBase 2025).
Occurrences Comments
This species is known from at least approximately 447 occurrences using a 1 km separation distance and records from 1994-2025 (InvertEBase 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
As commercial harvesting is not mostly prohibited or regulated, smaller scale and illegal harvesting is a threat to this species and it is particularly vulnerable to harvest because mature individuals tend to accumulate in shallow water and are easily accessible to harvesters; harvesting exacerbates low recruitment levels due to reduced spawner densities (COSEWIC 2009; NOAA 2014; NOAA 2023). Increased ocean temperatures and acidification due to climate change are a pervasive threat to this species (COSEWIC 2009; Crim et al. 2011; NOAA 2023).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is found in rocky intertidal and subtidal habitats (NOAA 2014).

Reproduction

Northern abalone spawn synchronously, with groups of males and females in close proximity in shallow waters, broadcasting gametes into the water column (Breen and adkins, 1980 cited in Abalone Recovery Team, 2004).
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
WashingtonSNRYes
CaliforniaS2Yes
OregonS1Yes
AlaskaS2Yes
CanadaN2
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource useLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5.4 - Fishing & harvesting aquatic resourcesLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5.4.1 - Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest]Large (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (22)
Alaska (22)
AreaForestAcres
Behm IslandsTongass National Forest4,777
ChichagofTongass National Forest555,858
ClevelandTongass National Forest189,447
Dall IslandTongass National Forest105,780
EudoraTongass National Forest195,022
GravinaTongass National Forest37,381
KartaTongass National Forest52,117
KasaanTongass National Forest7,611
KogishTongass National Forest65,216
McKenzieTongass National Forest83,103
Middle KruzofTongass National Forest14,724
North BaranofTongass National Forest314,089
North KruzofTongass National Forest33,146
North RevillaTongass National Forest215,430
Outer IslandsTongass National Forest99,862
RedoubtTongass National Forest68,347
Sitka SoundTongass National Forest13,459
Sitka UrbanTongass National Forest112,003
Soda BayTongass National Forest78,091
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
SukkwanTongass National Forest44,369
Tenakee RidgeTongass National Forest20,527
References (20)
  1. Abalone Recovery Team. 2004. National recovery strategy for the northern abalone (<i>Haliotis kamtschatkana</i>) in Canada. Report to Fisheries and Oceans Canada- Pacific Canada. 28 pp.
  2. COSEWIC. 2009. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the northern abalone <i>Haliotis kamtschatkana</i> in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa, Canada. 48 pp.
  3. Crim, R.N., Sunday, J.M. and Harley, C.D., 2011. Elevated seawater CO2 concentrations impair larval development and reduce larval survival in endangered northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana). <i>Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 400(1-2): 272-277.</i>
  4. Dimond, J.L., Bouma, J.V., Lafarga-De la Cruz, F., Supernault, K.J., White, T. and Witting, D.A., 2024. Endangered Pinto/Northern Abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) are Panmictic Across Their 3700 km Range Along the Pacific Coast of North America. Evolutionary Applications 17(12), p.e70040.
  5. Geiger, D. L. 2000. Distribution and biogeography of the recent Haliotidae (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda) world-wide. Bollettino Malacologico, Roma. 35:57-120.
  6. Geiger D. L., and B. Owen. 2012. Abalone: Worldwide Haliotidae. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. viii + 361 pp.
  7. Geiger, D. L. and G. T. Poppe. 2000. Haliotidae. Pp. 61-62 in Poppe, G. T. and K. Groh (Eds.). Conchological Iconography. ConchBooks, Weisbaden. 135 pp.
  8. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  9. InvertEBase. 2025. Online. Available: https://invertebase.org/portal/index.php.
  10. Jamieson, G.S. 1999. Review of status of northern, or pinto, abalone, <i>Haliotis kamtschatkana</i>, in Canada. Canadian Stock Assessment Secretariat Research Document 99/190. 22 pp.
  11. Kozloff, E.N. 1983. Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast: an Illustrated Guide to Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington. 388 pp.
  12. McLean, J. H. 1966. West American prosobranch gastropoda: Superfamilies Patellacae, Pleurotomariacea, and Fissurellacea. Ph. D. dissertation, Stanford University, CA. 255 p.
  13. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 2004. Status assessment of <i>Haliotis kamtschatkana</i>, pinto abalone. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Protected Resources. Updated 13 April 2004. Available: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/species/pintoabalone_detailed.pdf. Accessed May 2006.
  14. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 2014. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; notice of 12-month finding on petitions to list the pinto abalone as threatened or endangered under the endangered species act (ESA). Federal Register 79: 77998-78022.
  15. NOAA Fisheries. 2023. Species Directory. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Online. Available: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species-directory.
  16. Sloan, N. A., and P. A. Breen. 1988. Northern abalone, <i>Haliotis kamtschatkana</i> in British Columbia: fisheries and synopsis of life history information. Canadian Special Publications in Fisheries and Aquatic Science 103. 46pp.
  17. Tomascik, T. and H. Holmes. 2003. Distribution and abundance of <i>Haliotis kamtschatkana </i>in relation to habitat, competitors and predators in the Broken Group Islands, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada. J. of Shellfish Research 22: 831-838.
  18. Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
  19. WoRMS Editorial Board. 2019. World Register of Marine Species. Available: http://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ (accessed 25 Jan 2019)
  20. Zhang, Z., A. Campbell, and J. Lessard. 2007. Modeling northern abalone, <i>Haliotis kamtschatkana</i>, population stock and recruitment in British Columbia. Journal of Shellfish Research, 26(4): 1099-1107.