At issue now are only red abalone. "The over-harvesting and sale of our abalone has resulted finally in the closure of [taking] the green, white, pink, and black abalone species, said 30-year sports diver Ted Wheeler of Hayward, an affiliate of the Abalone and Marine Resources Council.

"By far the once greatest abalone beds in the world have now been decimated,"

Wheeler worries that sports divers will be prevented from diving for even red abalone if Fish and Game closes the southern coast to commercial abalone fishermen.

"A law promoted by commercial fishermen, which passed in 1982, say[s] that if they couldn't dive for any reason, we [sports divers] couldn't dive either."

He added that the "remaining red abalone species is down so low in commercial zones that poaching outside of these zones has become a major, unstoppable problem."

Konstantin Karpov, a Fort Bragg-based Fish and Game marine biologist, confirmed that abalone sanctuaries along the North Coast have been invaded by poachers.

"We're mostly concerned about preserving our deep-sea refuge population, which are especially threatened by [illegal] SCUBA divers," he said.

Karpov told the Light that in 1994 four Sonoma County divers were reportedly using SCUBA equipment to rip off abalone between Pedotti and Salt Point.

"These divers (all without commercial permits) then shipped an estimated 50,000 pounds of frozen abalone to a San Diego dealer to be sold on the "black market" [for $50 to $80 per pound]. The amount taken represents 18 percent of the yearly legal sport take for the county."

And abalone poachers come in many guises. Karpov said that some commercial fisherman who have sea urchin licenses in the north, also happen to be abalone permitees from Southern California.

About a decade ago, two "sea urchin" fishing boats, the Hell Raiser and the Phaedra, were caught carrying an "accidental" load of abalone. But few robber-divers are caught red-handed.

Karpov said he's especially concerned "because the North Coast is the only viable abalone fishery remaining in the world."

"That's one of the reasons we wanted to get into farming abalone - to take the pressure off the wild stocks," said Mark Dean, co-owner of Marshall-based Abalone Acres, whose earnings were washed away by recent storms.

"We lost about 90,000 abalone, or one third of our total crop. They're $2 apiece, so I figure we're out about $180,000. And Liquid Earth Abalone [also in Marshall] had to abandon its business."

Bolinas resident Todd Beeson, part-owner of Liquid Earth Abalone, declined to comment on the loss and current status of his company.

Dean explained that rain, excess creek water, and hillside runoff reduced Tomales Bay's salinity levels from the normal 32 parts per thousand to near zero.

"The abalone need a certain balance of salt in their cells to survive. They died from osmotic disruption - the freshwater exploded their cells."

In human terms, he said it's like dying by "sitting in the bathtub for too long."

But Abalone Acres remains committed to Tomales Bay, Dean said. "Our loss has forced us to develop a contingency plan to prevent this from happening again. We've thought of moving our [abalone] cages deeper, where the water is saltier. And we're also thinking of using a computerized salinity system," which monitors the varying salt levels in the bay.

Meanwhile, abalone aficionados in San Francisco and shellfish connoisseurs at the Silverado Country Club in Napa will have to do without Dean's delicacy until the spring.

Local sports diver Alistar Lizaranzu of Kentfield applauds the work of Abalone Acres. "Abalone farming is the way to go. It's the future. There's no way wild abalone can supply everyone's needs."

Inverness diver Rolf Ridge also gave "accolades" to the marine farmers. "I'm very supportive of the preservation and protection of the wild abalone."

Both Ridge and Lizaranzu said they regularly dive "where the locals go" north of McClure's Beach and also explore "the known spots" near Salt Point and Fort Ross along the Sonoma Coast. Neither has noticed any decrease in the red abalone in these areas.

"They may be less vulnerable here than they are in Southern California, but they're still vulnerable," Lizaranzu asserted. His observations are confirmed by recent Fish and Game counts: catch rates among sports divers remain high in Marin and Sonoma counties, averaging three per day.

But Lizaranzu thinks the sports diver's allotment of four abalone per day is "too generous ... I think the divers should be limited to two."

He says that some divers repeatedly take more than their share, and that it's too easy to obtain an abalone license to begin with. "Everybody should take an ecosystem-awareness test before getting a license. Basically, all divers are intruders. Few have any respect for the environment."