BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Haliotis kamtschatkana
Northern Abalone
| Scientific Name: | Haliotis kamtschatkana Jonas, 1845 | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Northern Abalone | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - 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. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | MO-HALKAM | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4 (Jan 2025) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2 (Jan 2002) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Endangered (Apr 2009) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Endangered | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | 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). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Ocean / Intertidal Marine / Facultative - occasional use
Ocean / Kelp Bed / Obligate Ocean / Pelagic / Obligate Ocean / Reefs / Obligate Ocean / Sheltered Waters - Marine / Facultative - frequent use Ocean / Subtidal Marine / Obligate |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | This species is found in rocky intertidal and subtidal habitats (NOAA 2014). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Habitat Comments: | "Northern Abalone occur in a wide range of habitats from fairly sheltered bays to exposed coastlines in a patchy distribution on hard substrate in intertidal and shallow subtidal waters." (COSEWIC 2009). Primary substrate includes bedrock and/or boulders, with secondary substrate of sediment, sand, mud or shell. Some cobble may be present, but with little or no gravel. They occur at depths of less than or equal to 10m (chart datum), require full seawater salinity (>30 ppt) and good water exchange (Lessard et al. 2007b, as cited in COSEWIC 2009). Larvae are planktonic and settlement is thought to occur on encrusting coralline algae (Roberts 2002, as cited in COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore: Adult
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | This species is generally herbivous, feeding on algal material (Abalone Recovery Team 2004; NOAA 2014). |
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| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | 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). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Cordeiro, J. (2007); rev. T. Cornelisse (2025) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jan 31, 2025 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | ECR | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Dec 31, 2002 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
B.C. Ministry of Environment. Recovery Planning in BC. B.C. Minist. Environ. Victoria, BC. |
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InvertEBase. 2025. Online. Available: https://invertebase.org/portal/index.php. |
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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. |
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NOAA Fisheries. 2023. Species Directory. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Online. Available: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species-directory. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2025. Species Summary: Haliotis kamtschatkana. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 8, 2026).