White Abalone Captive Breeding Lab

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 Program
Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 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 Mariah Pearl 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.

Alyssa Frederick

Alyssa Frederick, Ph.D.

  • Director, White Abalone Captive Breeding Program
  • Bodega Marine Laboratory
  • Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923
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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