Abalone Shell

Today on the silver specail 7 - 8 am, Matt was selling a Peacock, (can be used as a pendant or a brooch) he said it contained mother of pearl, abalone and peridot. I thought to myself "abalone, now there is something about abalone, that i thought it couldnt be sold??" I thought that the use of this was outlawed several years ago (once upon a time you could buy the little shells from shell sovenir shops at the seaside - havent seen one on sale now in absolutely years)

I was so certain that its use is not encouraged - and i am right, most places where you can find abalone, you need a licence to harvest; abalone stocks are dangerously low world wide; the white abalone is listed as an endangered species. Licences are required to harvest abalone, so i wonder if Gems are selling abalone that comes from sustainable abalone farms, and if so then when presenting a piece of abalone they should inform the viewers that the said piece of abalone has in fact been grown this way, and has not been illegally harvested.

Hate to sound a know it all - coz i am not, its just when he mentioned abalone, it fired a memory button. XX

I don't know whether you are right or wrong about the abalone shell - I do know that it is called Paua shell in New Zealand and there is still a lot of that being sold. I also think it's a much nicer name too lol.

Dingbat said:

I don't know whether you are right or wrong about the abalone shell - I do know that it is called Paua shell in New Zealand and there is still a lot of that being sold. I also think it's a much nicer name too lol.

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I know i read about it, saying that it is eaten as a delicacy, but even so, in New Zealand the person catching them requires a licence. I looked up on the internet about abalone - i wouldnt post such a claim if it wasnt the case. I was merely pointing out, that gems should tell the customer that the abalone they are selling has been grown in a sustainable abalone farm. Same as they mention that their diamonds are conflict free. And the only reason why i thought there was an issue with abalone, as i remember years ago (and i mean years ago) watching a programme about how seaside souvenirs were going to be made illegal i.e. starfish, abalone shell and also the big sea shells, the likes, Ursula Andress had in that James Bond film, where she immortalised herself in that bikini; also used for a horn in films set like swiss family robinson) and it just stuck in my memory, xx

Not sure if this helps ............

It is illegal to use Abalone as bait for fishing in New South Wales.

There is also legal and illegal harvesting so it's a regulated area but does imply that Abalone can be caught/farmed/sold quite legally. Australia's abalone farmers took an international lead role in developing environmental sustainability practices as there is a rapidly declining Abalone population.

Just in case you were interested in getting into Abalone farming (!) here's one that's for sale .......

http://www.kerrcapital.com.au/Curre...x?RefCd=54FF&gclid=CJzpnZLW8ZwCFV8B4wodqEHikA

Meeshoo said:

Not sure if this helps ............

It is illegal to use Abalone as bait for fishing in New South Wales.

There is also legal and illegal harvesting so it's a regulated area but does imply that Abalone can be caught/farmed/sold quite legally. Australia's abalone farmers took an international lead role in developing environmental sustainability practices as there is a rapidly declining Abalone population.

Just in case you were interested in getting into Abalone farming (!) here's one that's for sale .......

http://www.kerrcapital.com.au/Curre...x?RefCd=54FF&gclid=CJzpnZLW8ZwCFV8B4wodqEHikA

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Meeshoo the farm reminds me of a watercress farm! lol it looks very nice, but i think the abalones look rather creepy, remind me of a enormous limpet! I wouldnt mind going into farming, chickens free range, and i would keep ferrets too, as i love ferrets! xxx