Abalone Species

Abalone are a gentle sea snail, with a large central muscular foot and an amazingly colourful and lustrous shell.

There are over one hundred different species of abalone throughout the world's oceans - and the native New Zealand species is called Paua.

Paua or Haliotis iris are only found in the cool clear waters close to the New Zealand coastline.

It is these creatures which possess the greatest range of colour and iridescence of any abalone shell.