Alaska abalone population, important to Indigenous traditions, gets new attention 
By Yereth Rosen US Source: ktoo 7/27/2022
Yereth Rosen
Credit: Ashley Bolwerk/Alaska Sea Grant
There is only one species of abalone native to Alaska waters, and a new project is underway to try to find ways to boost its depleted numbers.

An Alaska Abalone Recovery Working Group is brainstorming ideas for strengthening the state’s vulnerable population of pinto abalones, also known as Northern abalones or, to the Indigenous peoples of the region, Gunxaa and Gúlaa.
 

The working group includes representatives from state and federal agencies, tribal governments and others, including support from Alaska Sea Grant, a program based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that provides marine education, research and technology.

That has started with surveys of people in Southeast Alaska where pinto abalones are part of Indigenous tradition.

 
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