Abalone
Abalone
is an edible marine snail with a flattened, oval, spiraled shell,
with holes around the outer edge. It is considered a delicacy
in the heavily fished shores of China. When the Chinese first
arrived in Monterey they found an abundant amount of abalone.
During the 1850s and the 1860s, the Chinese concentrated on
the drying and selling of Abalone meat. They harvested the abalone
in mass quantities, leaving piles of shells on the beach. Later,
a market for abalone shells developed so the Chinese collected
and sold them to companies that used them for buttons and jewelry
manufacturing.
To
harvest the abalone, the Chinese would wade into rocky tidal
areas at low tide and pry the abalone off the rocks using a
pry-bar. They would use boats to go into deeper water.
On
the boat they used viewing boxes to find the abalone on the
ocean floor. A viewing box is a wooden box with a glass bottom
that when placed on the surface of the water magnifies the ocean
floor. They would then pry the abalone off the ocean floor using
a pry-bar which were up to 15 feet long.
