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C =
Commercially
Harvested

A= Aquaculture
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Other Links
   

HALIOTIDAE Abalones

 

 

 

 

 

A WARNING: Abalone viscera, at least in Japan, have caused human illness after ingestion.

Buyer Beware: Beware of circular, steaked cuttlefish mantles being offered as abalone. These are generally put through a meat tenderizer; look for needle marks as a clue to product substitution.

  • There are close to 100 species of abalone in the world, and no two look exactly alike before processing.

Since Abalone share common characteristics and cooking methods, etc. I will cover them here. If there is a special trait or tidbit of information, it will appear with the species listed below.

  • Live abalone should be active and stuck hard to the tank. The muscle-foot should respond to touch. If it doesn't, or if it dents, the animal is near death.
  • The entire flesh of the abalone is edible.
  • Abalone, when cooked, is milky-moist, tender and mild – somewhat like lobster, though sweeter to the sophisticated palate. Taste-wise, abalone is also a distant cousin to calamari. Cultured abalone may be slightly more tender than wild-run. Cooked abalone appears in various shades of white.
  • Frozen abalone meat should be firm, like an ivory-colored hockey puck. When thawed, it should have nearly no aroma.
  • Shuck live abalone with a wide spatula placed between meat and shell. Trim viscera and fringe, then slice and lightly pound with a wooden mallet until tender. Do not overpound – you will shred the meat. Save trimmings for chowder stock. Heat oil to near flash point in a shallow pan, then sauté less than 1 minute per side. Overcooking turns this delicacy to shoe leather.
 
  • Haliotis asinina
    (Linnaeus, 1758)

Donkey's-ear Abalone

URL
URL
URL
Philippines, China
A (URL)

URL
 
URL
 
  • Haliotis assimilis
    (Dall, 1878 )
  • Haliotis kamtschatkana
    (Jonas, 1845)

Threaded abalone

URL
URL
URL
California
     
URL
  • ABMAP: ssp.: Haliotis k. kamtschatkana
  • USA: San Luis Obispo County, California to Bahia Tortugas, Baja California.
  • Considered a subspecies of the pinto (kamtschtkana) abalone by some scientists
  • A clickable map
  • NOTE :all abalone fisheries closed in B.C. (date) and recovery plans in progress looking at hatchery techniques and manipulations of wild stocks
 
  • Haliotis
URL
URL
URL
         
 
 
  • Haliotis coccinea canariensis
    (Nordsieck, 1975)
  • Haliotis tuberculata coccinea
URL
URL
URL
         
  • Haliotis coccinea canariensis. (Canary Islands). It's called "Oreja de mar" or "Almeja canaria". I couldn't find how it's exactly prepared... but I'm still searching. (AMG)
  • ABMAP
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis conicopora
    (Peron, 1816 )

brownlip abalone, Conical Pore Abalone

URL
Australia
A (URL)
   
URL
URL
  • ABMAP: ssp. of rubra
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis corrugata
    (Wood, 1828)

Pink abalone

URL
URL
California
     
URL
  • ABMAP
  • Point Conception, California to Santa Maria Bay, Baja California, including the Channel Islands and Guadalupe Island. Grows slowly and is easily injured during picking. Once abundant in southern California; some habitat being recolonized by red abalone.
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis cracherodii
    (Orcutt, 1900)

Black abalone

URL
URL
California
     
URL
  • ABMAP: bonita Orcutt, 1900: cracherodii var. californiensis
  • USA: Mendocino County, California to southern Baja California.Usually harvested by shore pickers. Most of the commercial harvest is exported to the Orient. Sometimes dense and stacked on top of one another in undisturbed areas.
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis discus
    (Reeve, 1846)
URL
URL
Japan
C
     
 
  • Haliotis discus hannai
    (Ino, 1953)
URL
URL
Southern China Sea
       
  • ABMAP: ssp: Haliotis discus
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis diversicolor
    (Reeve, 1846)
URL
URL
Hawaii
       
  • ABMAP: aquatilis Reeve, 1846: diversicolor
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis diversicolor supertexta
URL
URL
Southern China Sea
A
     
  • ABMAP: supertexta Lischke, 1870: var., syn. of diversicolor
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis fulgens
    (Philippi, 1845)

Green abalone

URL
URL
California, Hawaii
A (Hawaii)
   
URL
  • ABMAP
  • Point Conception, California to Bahia Magdalena, Baja California. An important alternative to the red abalone (rufescens).
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis iris

Balckfoot paua

URL
URL
New Zealand
       
  • "Wikipedia" - "To Maori, paua are recognised taonga, or treasure, esteemed both as kai moana (seafood) and as a valued resource for traditional and contemporary arts and crafts. ..."
  • "Haliotis iris and there are two other smaller species, not necessarily edible - Haliotis australis and Haliotis virginea and sub-species of the latter. .. private quote"


 
 
  • Haliotis kamtschtkana

Pinto abalone, Northern abalone

URL
URL
northern Pacific
C: Alaska
   
URL
  • ABMAP: ??
  • Sitka, Alaska to Monterey, California. Called northern abalone in Canada. Subiect of a commercial fishery in Alaska and Canada.
  • A clickable map

 
  • Haliotis laevigata
    (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834)

greenlip abalone

URL
URL
Australia
A & C
   
URL
URL
  • ABMAP: albicans Quoy & Gaimard, 1834: laevigata
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis pourtalesii
    (Dall, 1881)
Western Atlantic abalone
URL
URL
North America
     
URL
 
  • Haliotis roei
    (Gray, 1826)

Roe's abalone

URL
URL
Australia
A & C
   
URL
URL
  • In Perth, the smaller Roe's abalone, named after the first Surveyor General of the Swan River colony in 1827, is so keenly sought that stringent rules and a very limited fishing season have been introduced to manage the recreational fishery.
  • ABMAP
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis rubra
    (Reeve, 1846)
blacklip abalone
URL
URL
Australia
A
   
URL
  • ABMAP: ancile Reeve, 1846: juv. rubra
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis rufescens
    (Valenciennes, 1831)

Red abalone, ear-shell, pinto abalone, black-lipped abalone

URL
URL
Australia, China,
Japan, Mexico,
United States
C
 
World's largest abalone.
URL
  • The most popular and common abalone in the North American market is the red abalone, available as farmed product from California and as both wild-harvested and farmed product from Mexico.
  • They are voracious eaters with adult red abalones consuming their weight in kelp each day. This abalone has a brick-red outer shell, occasionally with bands of green or white, surrounded by black, hair-like fringe. The inner shell is iridescent mother-of-pearl.
  • ABMAP: californiana Valenciennes, 1831: rufescens
  • USA: Sunset Bay, Oregon to Bahia Tortugas, Baja California.
  • World's largest abalone. Most desirable commercially for size and light meat color. They may recolonize depleted areas more rapidly than other species. Object of aquaculture in California.
  • A clickable map

 
  • Haliotis sorenseni
    (Bartsch, 1940)

White abalone

URL
URL
California
     
URL
  • ABMAP
  • A clickable map
  • USA: Point Conception, California to Bahia Tortugas, Baja California. Mostly found at the Channel Islands. Desirable for its tender meat.
 
             
  • ABMAP
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis ovina
    (Ršding, 1798)
URL
URL
Philippines
C
     
  • ABMAP: caelata Ršding, 1798: ovina
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis ruber
URL
URL
Australia
C
     
  • ABMAP: ????
  • A clickable map
 
  • Haliotis tuberculata
URL
URL
France, Brittany
C
 
Croatian cuisine
URL
 
  • Haliotis walallensis
    (Stearns, 1898)

Northern Green Abalone, Flat abalone

URL
URL
BC (Canada)- S California (USA)
       
  • ABMAP
  • A clickable map
  • distribution is limited: often reported to have been found in B.C. but there is no specimen or official record.

 

 

HARPIDAE
(Harp Shells)
 
 
  • Harpa major
 
Taiwan
C
     
 
 

 

 

HIATELLIDAE
(Saxicave & Panope Clams)
 
 
  • Cyrtodaria siliqua (Spengler, 1799)
  • (Cyrtodaria siliqua)

Northern Propeller Clam; Banks Clam

URL
URL
URL
Atlantic Canada & USA
 
A favorite in clam chowders
 

URL
 
 
  • Panopea abrupta (Conrad, 1849)
  • Syn:
    P. generosa

Pacific geoduck; China: elephant trunk clam;

 

 

 

 

 

 


URL
URL
URL
Alaska to Baja, California
C
UHA Recipes
Geoduck Recipes
Fact Sheet
  • Geoduck is prized for its incredibly sweet flavour and crunchy texture.
  • The panopea abrupta, is better known by its Nisqually Indian name of "gwe-duk," or "dig-deep": the geoduck.That's "gooey-duck" to you and me!
  • The most impressive hardshell clam in the Pacific Northwest is the geoduck (Panopea abrupta), the world's largest burrowing clam, found chiefly in Puget Sound. It can become an old-growth monster living more than 150 years and weighing up to 20 pounds.
  • Geoduck (marketed as King Clams) are harvested from subtidal tracts in WA.
    The geoduck fishery in B.C. is managed by setting individual vessel quotas, and vessels fish throughout the coast. ( Underwater Harvesters Association (Canada) webpage.) There is great interest in geoduck aquaculture, intertidal in WA and subtidal in B.C.
  • Geoduck is extremely popular in Hong Kong, China and Japan, where it is considered a rare taste treat. They are usually cooked in a fondue-style Chinese hot pot or raw sashimi style and dipped in soy sauce and wasabi. On Japanese menus, Geoduck is called mirugai.
  • Lots of trivia and even a song about this monster can be found on this page. The Geoduck Chronicles: How an obscure bivalve became the object of international desire: by William Dietrich (Special to The Seattle Times )
  • Choosing a Goeduck:
    • geoduck are most popular live, preferably kept in a chilled salt water tank with good water circulation. However, they may also be found chilled, flash-frozen, or as vacuum-packed siphons. Occasionally, they are even sold as dried body meat.
    • Live goeduck: look for ones that have fresh, plump, firm looking siphons. Although light beige-coloured siphons are preferred by many customers, the taste and texture of the meat inside is the same regardless of the exterior siphon colour.
    • If you are going to eat the goeduck that day, you can often ask ask the steller to cut it out of its shell for you and discard the dark, egg-sized, oval stomach. What should remain is the siphon attached to a crescent-shaped strip of body meat.
    • If not eating immediately, live Geoduck will keep in the coldest part of your refrigerator for two to three days wrapped in a damp cloth
  • How to Prepare a Geoduck:
      • insert a small, sharp paring knife in between the shell and the body of the Geoduck around the base of the siphon
      • cut along the edge of the shell to separate the shell from the body Bbeing sure to sever the adductor muscles at the top and bottom of the shell while doing so.
      • Then trim off and discard the dark, egg-sized, oval stomach
      • Now get rid of the tough skin covering the siphon and body meat, by running hot water from your tap until it's just too hot to the touch. Then place the clam in the hot water until the skin begins to bubble and loosen. When ready, you should be able to peel off the skin easily like a cylindrical sheaf to expose the edible creamy-smooth flesh underneath.
      • Rinse and scrub off any brown pigment and loose skin that may cling to the meat
      • cut the siphon off from the body meat and split it lengthwise in half across the two apertures showing in the thicker end. Then, using a very sharp knife, cut each piece of the siphon into paper thin slices on a sharp bias. After trimming off the spongy parts from the body meat, it can either be sliced the same way as the siphon and served or cut up and put in a tasty chowder.
      • Important: Geoduck toughens very quickly when cooked. Therefore, a very quick blanch in a pot of boiling broth or an equally quick toss into a boiling sauce yields the best results.

    • Method #2: from Agriculture Canada
      • Blanch the entire clam in boiling water for 10 seconds (no longer!).
      • Using a paring knife, carve the clam away from the shell.
      • Separate the viscera from the meat of the neck (siphon) and breast (mantle).
      • Peel the skin off the siphon and mantle (like slipping off a rubber glove).
      • Wash thoroughly.
      • Split the siphon by inserting knife or scissors into lower siphon hole, at the end where the viscera were removed, and cutting lengthwise.
      • Wash siphon, removing all traces of sand and grit.
      • The meat below the siphon is the breast meat, and may be split down the median line and cut into small lengths.
      • Once the tough outer skin is removed, the remaining breast meat is quite tender.
      • The siphon meat, on the other hand, should be sectioned and pounded gently with the smooth side of a meat mallet to tenderize the sections into thin steaks. (Tenderizing is not necessary if you intend to use the meat in chowder).

  • How to serve goeducks
    • Easy dipping sauce for blanched Geoduck: Heat equal parts of Japanese soy sauce and canned chicken stock with one or two sliced small chilies on the stove or in the microwave. Adjust to taste with a pinch of sugar and garnish with some chopped green onions or cilantro and a sprinkle of sesame oil if desired.
    • toss some blanched Geoduck into a stir-fry of snow peas, carrots and water chestnuts right before serving.
 
  • Panopea bitruncata
    (Conrad,
    1842)

Atlantic goeduck

URL
URL
URL
North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico
       
 
  • Panopea generosa
    (Gould1850)
  • Syn.
    P abrupta

Pacific goeduck

URL
URL
URL
Alaska to Gulf of California (USA)
C
   
URL
  • Canada
  • It may weigh as much as 3.6 kg (8 pounds).

     

 
             
 

 

 

LIMIDAE
(File Clams)
URL
 
  • Acesta rathbuni (320)
    (Rathbun's giant lima)
 
Philippines
       
 
  • Lima lima
 
Montinegro Coast
   
Croatian cuisine
URL
 

 

 

LITTORINIDAE
(Periwinkles)

URL

All Periwinkles are edible though many are simply too small to be worth the effort to free them from their shells. Most Periwinkles are concidered too small to be of economic importance.

You might want to try this method of extraction: Use a cork with a straight
pin inserted into it and then you use the pin to take the winkles out of the shell

Wild and Free: Edible Periwinkles:

 
  • Littorina angulifera
    (Lamarck,1822)
Angulate Periwinkle, Mangrove Periwinkle

URL

 

 

Atlantic USA and Canada
Bermuda; S Florida; W Indies

 

   

Research paper

 

 

URL

 

 

 
 
  • Littorina littoralis
    (Linné, 1758)

Past Name: Littorina obtusata

Dwarf Periwinkle, Rough Periwinkle.Flat Periwinkles

URL
URL
URL

 

 

W Europe (British and Irish coasts);Sweden, NE North America

 

   

Past Name: Littorina obtusata

Flat Periwinles:Other scientific names: Littorina littoralis,Littorina palliata and Littorina mariae

URL

URL

URL

 

 
 
  • Littorina littorea
    (Linnaeus, 1758)

bigorneau, common and edible periwinkle, winkle

 

 

 


 

URL
URL
URL

URL


 

 

Found on all British coasts, though rare or absent in the Isles of Scilly and Channel Isles.

Europe, France, Atlantic coasts of North America, Scotland, USA

Commercial in Scotland, Ireland,
Atlantic Canada

 

 

pickled 'periwinkles' in France

Mock clam chowder

Preparation Method & Recipe for Fritters

 

largest British periwinkle

 

 

 

URL

Anatomy Diagram

 

  • Spain: Caramuxo o mincha: It is boiled with the shell and salt and laurel. It's delicious. In Galicia fishermen catch this species when the sea is in very bad condition and they can't sail out of the harbour (AMG)
 
  • Littorina irrorata
    (Say, 1822)
Lined, Marsh or Southern Periwinkle
URL


Atlantic USA and Canada

 

     

URL
URL

 

 
 
  • Littorina obtusata
  • see Littorina littoralis above
           
 

 

 

LUCINIDAE:
Lucine Clams
  • URL
  • URL
  • this species is sometimes referred to as hatchet shells

 

 
  • Codakia orbicularis
    (Linnaeus, 1758)
    Tiger Lucine (local Spanish name is "almeja")
URL
SE United States to Brazil
       
 
 
  • Linga pensilvanica (L., 1758)

URL
SE United States and the West Indies        
 
 
  • Lucina pectinata (Gmelin, 1791)

Thick lucine

URL
URL
SE United States to Brazil        
 
 
  • Lucinoma borealis
    (Linnaeus, 1767)

Northern lucine

URL
Sweden        

 

 

MACTRIDAE
Mactra, Surf and Gaper Clams

 

 
  • Eastonia rugosa (Helbling, 1778)

An - Rugose mactra; Es - Pechina rugosa; Fr - Eastonie rugueuse

URL
Straits of Gibraltar, Mediterranean, Spain


   
URL
 
 
  • Lutraria angustior (Philippi, 1844)

An - Narrow otter shell; Es - Pechina estrecha; Fr - Lutraire étroite

URL
URL
Mediterranean, Spain
     
URL
 
 
  • Lutraria lutraria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common otter shell; Es - Arola; Fr - Lutraire elliptique. Nationaux

URL
URL
URL
Mediterranean, Norway
 
Other scientific names still of use: Lutraria elliptica Lamarck, 1801
 
URL
 
 
  • Lutraria magna (da Costa, 1778)
An - Oblong otter shell; Es - Pechina oblonga; Fr - Lutraire oblongue
URL
URL
URL
Black Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic
 
Other scientific names still of use: Lutraria oblonga (Gmelin, 1791); Psammophila magna (da Costa, 1778)
 
URL
 
 
  • Mactra antiquata (Spengler 1802),
URL
URL

URL
URL
China, Indo Pacific        
 
 
  • Mactra chinensis
URL
URL
China-Yellow Sea
       
 
 
  • Mactra corallina (Linnaeus, 1758)
An - Rayed trough-shell; Es - Pechina lisa; Fr - Mactre corallina. Nationaux
URL
URL
URL
Black Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic is (subspecies cinerea (Montagu, 1808)), Norway in Senegal
 
Other scientific names still of use : Mactra stultorum (Linnaeus, 1758)
 
URL
 
 
  • Mactra Dollabriformis

Hatchet Surf clam

URL
URL
URL
URL
URL
URL
       
 
 
  • Mactra fragilis

Fragile surfclam

URL
URL
URL
       
FDA
 
 
  • Mactra glauca (Born, 1778)

An - Grey rough shell; Es - Pechina blancs; Fr - Mactre fauve;Japan -Haiirominatogai

URL
URL
URL
Black Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic
     
URL
 
 
  • mactra planulata
URL
URL
URL
Alaska
       
 
 
  • Mactra quadrangularis
URL
URL
URL
China
       
 
 
  • Mactra sachalinensis

Hen Clam

URL
URL
URL
       
FDA
 
 
  • Mactra solidissima

Sea clam-surf clam

URL
URL
URL
Labrador to Gulf of Mexico
  MACTRA SACHALINENSIS Common Name: HEN CLAM ... SURFCLAM
Scientific Name: SIMOMACTRA PLANULATA Common Name: FLAT SURFCLAM
   
 
 
  • Mactra stultorum
URL
URL
URL
Spain
C
     
 
 
  • Mactrellona alata (Spengler 1802)
URL
URL
URL
Caibbean, Brazil      
FDA
 
 
  • Mactromeris catilliformis

Dish Surfclam

URL
       
FDA
 
 
  • Mactromeris hemphilli
    (Dall ??

Hemphill Surfclam

URL
URL
       
FDA

 
  • Mactromeris polynyma
    (Stimpson, 1860)

Alaska surfclam, pinkneck clam.Stimpson's surfclam
Sp. Almeja, Japan.Hokkigai

Former Name: Spisula polynyma

URL
URL
URL

Alaska, North America's northernAtlantic coastline
 
 

URL

FDA

 
  • Mactrotoma californica

California surfclam

URL
       
FDA
 
 
  • Mactrotoma nasuta
Bent surfclam
URL
URL
       
FDA
 
 
  • Rangia Cuneata

Brackishwater Clam, Atlantic Rangia cla, Freshwater Clam, Wedge Clam,

URL
URL
Gulf Coast, Southern Atlantic estuaries ans inland waters
     
FDA
 
 
  • Simomactra Falcata
    (Gould

Hooked surfclam

URL
URL
       
FDA
 
 
  • Simomactra Planulata

Flat surfclam

URL
URL
       
FDA
 
 
  • Spisula raveneli (Conrad, 1831).
URL
URL
         
 
 
  • Spisula solidissima

Atlantic surf or “bar” clam

URL
URL
         
 
 
  • Spisula elliptica
    (Brown,
    1827)

Elliptical trough shell

URL
URL
Northern Atlantic
       
Spain: called almeja blanca (AMG)
 
  • Spisula sachalinensis
URL
URL
         
 
 
  • Spisula solida
    (Linne 1758)

Thick trough shell

URL
URL
Spain, Finland
       
 
 
  • Spisula
    solidissima
    (Dillwyn 1817),

Hen clam,Bar clam, Sea clam, Atlantic surfclam

URL
URL
Atlantic USA
     
FDA
 
 
  • Spisula subtruncata (da Costa, 1778)
(An - Subtruncata surf clam; Es - Pechina triangular; Fr - Douceron triangulaire
URL
URL
URL
Black Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic
     
URL
 
 
  • Tresus capax
    (A.A. Gould, 1850)

Fat Gaper, Horse clam

URL
URL
Aleutians to Oceano, CA.
     
FDA
  • Harvested intertidally by recreational fishers. Harvested subtidally in B.C. by geoduck divers.
 
  • Tresus nutalli
    (Conrad, 1837)

Pacific gaper, horse clam

URL
URL
Kodiak Island, Alaska to southern Baja California      
FDA
  • Harvested intertidally by recreational fishers. Harvested subtidally in B.C. by geoduck divers.
 
             
 
 

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