White Abalone Captive Breeding Lab

A colorful illustration showing an imagined view of white abalone falling out of a plane into the ocean with the caption "LightHawk, a non- profit flight organization, volunteers its pilots, staff, and flight hours to assist in transferring white abalone between facilities in partnership with the White Abalone Captive Breeding Program at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory. White abalone are not actually dropped directly into the sea!"

Making Space for White Abalone

  • by CMSI Intern Elijah Valerjev, edited by Jessica Lee
White abalone have influenced cultural traditions, inspired regional cuisine, and moved generations of ocean lovers, but when overfishing pushed white abalone to the bring of extinction, humans and white abalone had to develop an entirely new relationship with each other.
A group of four people holding up white abalone and smiling

Working in the WAC Lab

  • by Ry Ulmer-Strack

Driven by his interest in aquaculture and restoration ecology Ry has been taking biology classes at SRJC as he explores the possibility of applying to graduate school. 

A group of people standing around a tank of water filled with algae

A memorable summer with abalones

  • by Daily Alvarez

Daily Alvarez is a 21 year old biology student at the SRJC, intending to transfer to UC Davis and eventually pursue a career in the veterinary field. She is a person passionate about animals, and enjoys spending time out in nature and swimming. 

A person in a black and blue wet suite standing in front of a calm ocean coastline.

Nora Frank

  • Husbandry and Data Manager
  • White Abalone Captive Breeding Lab
Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923
A person wearing a tan jacket and sunglasses, smiling and holding up a squishy marine creature. In the background is a shoreline and water.

Leela Dixit

  • Junior Specialist
  • White Abalone Captive Breeding Lab
Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923
White abalone with white spots all over its shell, surrounded by a release of eggs during spawning

Springtime White Abalone Spawning at Bodega Marine Lab

  • by Jessica Lee
A Brief History of White Abalone

Once abundant, white abalone were critically overfished in the 1970s. With the remaining wild white abalone so far apart from one another that they were unable to reproduce successfully, experts determined that captive breeding and outplanting were the best ways to save the species. After early breeding efforts were hampered by disease, the program headquarters moved to UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory in 2011.

Gary Cherr

Gary Cherr, Ph.D.

  • Professor Emeritus
  • Bodega Marine Laboratory
  • College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
  • Department of Environmental Toxicology
Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923
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