JCS students present pinto abalone research at PTMSC

As Jefferson Community School (JCS) students have learned, Pinto Abalone, a shellfish unique to Puget Sound, are nearly extinct. On Monday, June 9, from 6-8 p.m. at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC)’s Marine Exhibit on the pier at Fort Worden beach, science students from JCS will present results from their year-long research projects on Pinto Abalone. Admission is free.

Mikayla Hemsley (left) and Rio Golden are removing
abalone from their nursery cage to record growth
of shell length and mass of the individual. 

"We welcome the public to the students’ presentations about their work over this past year and invite questions regarding their findings," said Jamie Landry, PTMSC citizen science coordinator and head science teacher at JCS. "The students' research is real science—they are contributing valuable data to the scientific community on how this almost-extinct species responds to different types of food.”

This is important data the students have gathered, because the faster researchers can raise juvenile abalone in a lab setting, the faster they are able to release them into the wild for restoration efforts. Students used a stock of juvenile Pinto Abalone given to the PTMSC for research by the Puget Sound Restoration Fund.

Once the research projects were completed, several individual abalone were kept by the PTMSC for display in the science center’s aquarium tanks. Attendees to the event will have an opportunity view these rare animals and learn more about the restoration efforts taking place in our region. For more information, contact Jamie Landry at 360.385.5582, ext. 112 or via e-mail at jlandry@ptmsc.org.