I'm getting ready to go up north to Ft Bragg for an abalone dive trip. It's going to be a bunch of guys from the firehouse in one house for four days. 
For anyone who doesn't know; abalone are single shelled molusks that cling to the underside of rocks in the ocean. they eat kelp so you dive through seaweed to find them. The rules are very strict as how you can get them and how many are allowed. (Northern California has pretty much the last abalone population in the world due to these protections) You aren't allowed to use SCUBA gear, so you just have to hold your breath and try to find one of legal size then pry it off the rock with an "ab iron". This tool is just a flat prybar. They are strong, so if you don't have a good angle (they like tight squeezes) you don't have a good chance of prying them off. If you get one, they are delicious
I just learned that the main reason we still have abalones in our water is because the Russian fur traders wiped out the sea otter (their main predator) along the northern coast
For anyone who doesn't know; abalone are single shelled molusks that cling to the underside of rocks in the ocean. they eat kelp so you dive through seaweed to find them. The rules are very strict as how you can get them and how many are allowed. (Northern California has pretty much the last abalone population in the world due to these protections) You aren't allowed to use SCUBA gear, so you just have to hold your breath and try to find one of legal size then pry it off the rock with an "ab iron". This tool is just a flat prybar. They are strong, so if you don't have a good angle (they like tight squeezes) you don't have a good chance of prying them off. If you get one, they are delicious
I just learned that the main reason we still have abalones in our water is because the Russian fur traders wiped out the sea otter (their main predator) along the northern coast