Paua or pāua is the Māori name given to three species of large edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family Haliotidae (genus Haliotis), known in the USA as abalone, and in the UK as ormer shells.

There are three species of New Zealand paua:

New Zealand's best known paua species is Haliotis iris. It is also the most common species, growing up to 18 cm in length.

Habitat

Paua are commonly found in shallow coastal waters along rocky shorelines in depths of 1 to 15 m.

Life habits

These large sea snails survive the strong tidal surges by clinging to rocks using their large muscular foot. They feed on seaweed.

Shell description

The shell of the paua is oval, and the exterior is often covered with greyish incrustations. In contrast, the interior layer of shell (called the nacre) of a Paua is an iridescent swirl of intense green, blue, purple, and sometimes pink colours.

Harvesting

Paua are gathered recreationally and commercially but strict catch limits are set for both. For recreational fishers this is ten paua per person, per day. The minimum legal size for caught paua is 125 mm for Haliotis iris and 80 mm for Haliotis australis. Paua can only be caught by free diving. It is illegal to dive for paua using scuba equipment.

There is an extensive global black market in the collection and export of abalone meat. Pāua poaching is a major industry in New Zealand with many thousands being taken illegally, often undersized. The right to harvest pāua can be granted legally under Māori customary rights, but when permits to harvest are abused, it is difficult to police. The limit is strictly enforced by roving Ministry of Fisheries officers with the backing of police. Convictions have resulted in seizure of diving gear, boats, and motor vehicles as well as fines and in rare cases, imprisonment. The Ministry of Fisheries expects in the year 2004/05, nearly 1,000 tons of pāua will be poached, with 75% of that being undersized.

Human use

To Māori, paua are recognised taonga, or treasure, esteemed both as kai moana (seafood) and as a valued resource for traditional and contemporary arts and crafts. Paua are frequently used to represent the eyes in Māori carvings and traditionally are associated with the stars, or whetu the eyes of ancestors that gaze down from the night sky.

The paua is iconic in New Zealand: its black muscular foot is considered a delicacy, and the shell is frequently used in jewelry.

Highly polished New Zealand pāua shells are extremely popular as souvenirs with their striking blue, green, and purple iridescence.

Quick fact about the Paua shell: The Paua shells make up the decoration on Xena's first chakram in the hit TV series Xena: Warrior Princess. Although the show was set predominately in Ancient Greece, the shell is used because the Paua is native to New Zealand, the location of where the show was actually filmed.