From the marine snails

“Abalone is the most dangerous fishing in Australia…”

Surf Life Saving WA

If you visit the Axel Stenross Museum in Port Lincoln, you can inspect an extraordinary invention. They have a working model of a abalone diving cage. This self propelled oversized milk crate was developed to protect local abalone divers from shark attack. Why bother? Why take such risks? Despite being a large marine snail, abalone are highly prized and valuable, both as a desirable food and for decorative purposes. Their outer shell is dull, but the inner surface is composed of nacre, known as mother-of-pearl. The Japanese use shards of abalone shell embedded in lacquer to produce decorative Raden ware. Given the interests of this blog, it will be no surprise that the technique is often employed in fountain pen production. #foodanddecoration #letsmakelemonade