Emergency Response Plan for Intertidal Abalone (non-oil spill emergencies) Full Protocol. Version Date: December 2025

Black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii) are marine mollusks that occur in rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats from Mendocino County, California to Baja California, Mexico. In 2009, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed black abalone as Endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The NMFS Final Black Abalone Recovery Plan (NMFS 2020) and associated Five-Year Recovery Implementation Strategy identify the following as a recovery priority: Develop a plan to remove black abalone in response to events such as oil spills, landslides, and vessel groundings. The purpose of this Emergency Response Plan (Plan) is to guide response to impacts or anticipated impacts on black abalone in emergency situations. We define an “emergency” to be any impact event that poses a threat to abalone in the intertidal zone. This Plan focuses on responses to non-spill events. A separate Oil Spill Response Plan is available and includes additional, specific guidance needed to respond to oil spill (and other chemical/contaminant spills) events that may affect black abalone.