Pinto abalone were once abundant in Washington’s Strait of Juan de Fuca and around the San Juan Islands. However, Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) found that the abalone population had declined 97% between the early 1990s and 2017. Although recreational harvest ended in 1994—and was already tightly restricted before then—the population continued to fall. Poaching may have contributed to these losses in the early years, but today, with so few remaining animals, it is no longer considered a significant factor. In 1992, WDFW established ten permanent survey sites in the San Juan Islands to track long‑term trends, and between 1992 and 2017 every annual survey recorded further declines. This is an illustration of a Pinto abalone. Amid these challenges, conservation partners initiated an ambitious recovery effort centered on aquaculture. Here adult abalone are brought into safe laboratory spaces to spawn.…