The first white abalone outplanting – where captive-origin white abalone were placed into the wild – occurred in October 2019. This marked a pivotal new phase of the species’ recovery efforts.
In Gratitude
As the first white abalone destined for the ocean were packed into coolers for a long drive to southern California, UCD-BML hosted a ceremony for people to express their gratitude to the animals and the community of humans that supports them.
Scientists and support staff from UCD-BML and partner facilities, docents, reporters, and local Native people gathered outside of UCD-BML’s White Abalone Culture Facility to offer reflections, songs, and prayers.
Suki Waters read a prayer for the white abalone:
“We are here today to share with you how important your being is. How important your being is to the web of all life. How important your being is for today and for all tomorrows.”
To the White Abalone
Dr. Kristin Aquilino, who directed the captive breeding program in 2019 and restored our ability to spawn and raise this species in captivity, read the departing white abalone a graduation speech:
“To the White Abalone:
Some words of reflection for you as you begin your journey home to a place you have never known…
We were there when you came into being. We watched you hatch and swim for the first time. We fretted over microscopes as you settled and learned to crawl, and we fed you your first food.
We cleaned your cradles and siphoned your waste – and you made a lot of waste! We tracked your growth in pages and pages of spreadsheets and gave you regular health checkups.
We loaded our phones and flooded our social media feeds with photos and videos of your adorable, beady-eyed faces. We printed postcards and T-shirt’s with your likeness, and some of us even permanently tattooed your beautiful bodies on our own.
During your time on shore, we forced you to take ‘shellfies’ with scientists, students, university administrators, policy-makers, and politicians. You met oodles of reporters who shared your story.
You also met some of the children, including my own, who will share their futures with you and your children.
As we asked you questions about how to save your species from our species, you gifted us with curiosity and wonder, with responsibility and purpose, and with hope and optimism.
So with the deepest gratitude, we wish you all the best on your long journey home.
Enjoy the new smells and the ocean swells. Find a nice crevice with good friends, good food, and a romantic atmosphere. Someday, when you’re ready—but pretty soon, please—make babies.
You are the future of your species. You are the future of our species.
Farewell, white abalone. This little blue planet is a better place with you in it.”
White Abalone Captive Breeding Program 