A long-gone California pastime was catching abalone off the coast, but in 2001, white abalone became the first marine invertebrate to be added to the endangered species list, and soon after, all commercial and recreational capture of abalone became outlawed. But just a quick drive up to Gaviota, one can relive the past and see what the abalone have been up to at the largest abalone hatchery and farm in California.
The Cultured Abalone Farm was first established in 1989 on the Gaviota Coast to raise native red abalone, though they also conserve white and green abalone. If you’ve had red abalone at a restaurant in Santa Barbara, chances are you’ve eaten an abalone raised at The Cultured Abalone Farm – Lucky’s, El Encanto, and the San Ysidro Ranch all serve their abalone, to name a few.
For this interview I spoke with Andie Van Horn, a recent UCSB graduate and The Cultured Abalone Farm’s tour coordinator. She’s got a peppy spirit and rocks an abalone-shell septum piercing and nautical-themed tattoos. Though she grew up in the distinctly landlocked suburbs of Sacramento, Van Horn spent formative summers by the ocean and in the woods. “I was always the one right up next to the ranger asking all the questions,” she said playfully.
Days spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Bodega Bay deepened Van Horn’s appreciation for the ocean. Van Horn graduated in 2024 with a degree in aquatic biology and museum studies, and thus works as a farm technician on the farm, as well. Van Horn discovered the Cultured Abalone Farm while working at REEF (Research Experience and Education Facility), UCSB’s beachside touch tank…