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AKgringo
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Ron, thanks for the additional information, I have always been curious about the prospects of aquaculture on the Pacific coast.
One additional question I have, is how long does it take a farmed abalone to reach the five to six inch size?
Thanks again!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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BajaGringo
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Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  | Ron, thanks for the additional information, I have always been curious about the prospects of aquaculture on the Pacific coast.
One additional question I have, is how long does it take a farmed abalone to reach the five to six inch size?
Thanks again! |
Abalone farmed their entire life in aquaculture tanks would likely take 6-10 years to reach that size range, based on color/type of abalone, feed and
water temperature.
Our business model is to move the abalone juveniles back to the ocean where they will grow faster, be managed by our divers and continue to spawn,
further enlarging the coastal colonies.
We will begin to harvest a percentage of those once thresholds have been reached and only in numbers that will ensure sustainability...
[Edited on 9-27-2016 by BajaGringo]
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BajaGringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by rts551 | | Excellent Ron. Your collaborative work with limpets should help cancer cure research for years to come. |
Thanks guys - thousands and thousands of hours of my time has been invested in this work in the last decade, to make this a viable project and at the
same time help restore the lost abalone fisheries here that once were so predominant.
It remains a work in progress but we got a huge shot in the arm via our collaboration with Stellar Biotechnologies. I am excited about this on so many
levels as today we are only the 2nd known aquaculture facility to successfully manage the giant keyhole limpet (Stellar was the very first in Port
Hueneme). This amazing marine animal is holding so much promise via a key blood protein (KLH) that is achieving amazing results in treating cancer,
alzheimers, lupus and other diseases. Many of its applications are in advanced clinical drug trials and the FDA recently classified KLH as a
"breakthrough technology".
Stellar shares our philosophy of sustainability and have patented a non-lethal extraction method which will help us to maintain healthy populations of
the giant keyhole limpets, a rare mollusk that is only found from central California to central Baja with the highest concentrations remaining having
been observed here in our area around San Martin Island. So we won't have to kill off millions of keyhole limpets to provide the key component in a
very promising immunotherapy.
Cancer vaccines? Could be a reality soon!
Stellar recently joined forces with Neovacs of France to provide KLH for testing vaccines against cancer, lupus, alzheimers, etc. They recently
received approval from the FDA to begin drug trials in the US.
We are currently developing the processes to be able to grow the limpets together with abalone in our system and will become the very first site in
Mexico where fisheries and biotechnology are working together.
Very, very exciting stuff. Long, long days right now but I pinch myself each and every morning as I am able to live in such a beautiful place with
Cristina by my side, working in such a challenging and rewarding environment alongside some truly incredible, gifted people.
Life simply doesn't get any better IMHO. Wish us luck and keep your fingers crossed that this continues to move forward...
[Edited on 9-28-2016 by BajaGringo]
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David K
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Thank you so much, Ron!!!
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AKgringo
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Ron, there must be a warm water variation of the giant keyhole limpets. There is a rock island offshore and viewable from where the Manzanillo
airport is today (state of Colima)
I am sure that we were finding abalone sized limpets (no abalone!) on some of our dives around that rock. That was in the winter of 64-65, and we
were looking for lobsters and spear fishing, but Dave did shuck one limpet off the rocks that had to be six inches across.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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BajaGringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | Ron, there must be a warm water variation of the giant keyhole limpets. There is a rock island offshore and viewable from where the Manzanillo
airport is today (state of Colima)
I am sure that we were finding abalone sized limpets (no abalone!) on some of our dives around that rock. That was in the winter of 64-65, and we
were looking for lobsters and spear fishing, but Dave did shuck one limpet off the rocks that had to be six inches across. |
Possible but they would be exceptional. The coastal water temps at Manzanillo often run over 30°C and that is simply too hot for the megathura
crenulata. They begin to die at temps above 25°C.
Megathura Crenulata Temperature Study
The megathura all have a mantle that comes up over the top side of their shell with a distinctive "keyhole" shaped hole at the top. Look at these
example photos below and compare with the animals you saw. The megathura all have that identical pattern design on their outer shell that gets covered
by its mantle.
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AKgringo
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It was a long time ago, but I don't remember the ones I saw having a mantle. It had a hard shell, almost like a flattened volcano, and larger than
the one in your Hand!
Yes the water was warm, and clear. We snorkeled for hours without wet suits, and saw something new or different every time we went in the water!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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BajaGringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | It was a long time ago, but I don't remember the ones I saw having a mantle. It had a hard shell, almost like a flattened volcano, and larger than
the one in your Hand!
Yes the water was warm, and clear. We snorkeled for hours without wet suits, and saw something new or different every time we went in the water!
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If it didn't have an outer mantle then it definitely wasn't a megathura crenulata. Sounds more like a lottia fenestrata, a much more commonly found
limpet. We see them here as well and people often confuse them with the megathura.
They are cousins but not the same thing...
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | It was a long time ago, but I don't remember the ones I saw having a mantle. It had a hard shell, almost like a flattened volcano, and larger than
the one in your Hand!
Yes the water was warm, and clear. We snorkeled for hours without wet suits, and saw something new or different every time we went in the water!
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Maybe it wasn't a limpet at all, but an oyster.
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