Abalone Rescue!
Late to the beach today; had my second covid shot this morning. Weather has been cold, windy and rainy but dogs still need to be excercised.
As we walked, I knew a rain front was approaching and was ready to return to the car. Then I found a very large, live abalone washed up on a shelf, shell side down.
This is unusual but not unknown. The reef gets pretty rough and I find the odd, very large mollusc, alive in the shallows. I certainly don't want to deprive the Oystercatchers of their banquet but they have a vastly more varied and adaptable lifestyle than these big fellas, who really can't move to save themselves.
I named him Barry and set off to rehome him in his natural environment. Abalone are critters of the mid intertidal zone - submerged most of the time, exposed at very low tides. I picked him up at reef's edge on a broad, shale platform. It was 500 meters walk to the rocks edge and where the deep pools are.
It's also peak slime season. For the inland dwellers, the slime on rocks grows during winter. Black slime (sorry, algae) is the worst. It's like black ice. I'm not sure how useful two borrowed poodles and a loopy JRT would be if I sllipped and hit my head. It took half an hour to traverse the rocks to an acceptably deep pool, and hope that Barry would land right-side up.
Anyway, found a nice deep pool with plenty of overhangs and a nicely sloping entry, so he looks OK for a while. And then the rain started, while I was out on slimy rocks with three pissed-off dogs.
And not one soul better say, 'Take him home and eat him.' Our coast is a marine park, but unattractive as he is, Barry deserves a life. SEE - CARE - ACT.
Barry: Not attractive, I know, but a fellow slimy travellers on this earth
= new reply since forum marked as read
…and wouldn’t have trusted my balance on slippery rocks, either. Barry is a lucky mollusc. 
Complete sarcasm with a wink and nudge! 
Thank you for helping Barry. 
But seriously, what do they taste like? Seems like abalone could be compared to oysters/clams/conch? Does one make chowders with them? This one looks tough, but you did good, canetoad.
Fascinating
