A rare white abalone, a critically endangered sea snail, has been found alive off the coast of California for the first time in five years.
The discovery was made on May 12, 2026, during a research mission aboard NOAA’s research vessel Shearwater. The sighting was part of the Wanted Alive! White Abalone campaign, a project that encourages recreational divers and citizen scientists to report possible encounters with the elusive mollusk.
White abalone populations have collapsed by about 99% since the 1970s, leaving so few in the wild that finding one has become extremely difficult. The species once lived among California’s coastal kelp forests, but those habitats have also suffered major losses, partly because of booming sea urchin populations.
With remaining white abalone often separated by large distances, successful reproduction in the wild has become a major challenge. Scientists are now trying to identify where the species still survives and which habitats may offer the best chance for recovery.
Julie Bursek, education and outreach coordinator for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, compared the search to looking for a needle in a haystack. She said community science, research partnerships and habitat surveys are all important for helping researchers understand where white abalone may still be living.
Bursek and her team surveyed areas near Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz islands. Their work focused on identifying suitable habitat and collecting environmental DNA, or eDNA. This technique allows scientists to detect genetic traces that animals leave behind in the water.
After completing early surveys on the southeast side of Santa Rosa Island, the team moved to a protected marine area on the southwest side of Santa Cruz Island. There, researchers found habitat that appeared promising for white abalone.
During one dive, Bursek and Jaimee Butler, assistant dive safety officer of field operations at the Aquarium of the Pacific, spotted what they believed was a white abalone. The Aquarium of the Pacific is a partner in the Wanted Alive! White Abalone project.
The divers recorded video and measured the shell. NOAA Fisheries experts later reviewed the footage and confirmed the animal was indeed a living white abalone. The find marks the first confirmed live white abalone sighting in the sanctuary’s waters in five years.
The team also successfully used a new eDNA sampler and collected water samples for future analysis.
Researchers now plan to continue surveying habitat on the southwest side of Santa Cruz Island, try to locate the same individual again and study the eDNA samples. The discovery offers a hopeful sign for a species that has become one of California’s rarest marine animals.