GREAT EATS HAWAII: BIG ISLAND ABALONE CORP

BIG ISLAND ABALONE CORP.

ABALONE FROM COSTCO

Walked right pass a cooking demonstration and table full of Abalone at Costco. I love Abalone

but was not in the mood for it on this day. I cruised through the isles and noticed my wife and daughter had left me. When they returned to me and my cart my daughter placed a packaged of the Abalone in the cart. Seems my eleven year old was in the mood for some Abalone. She took it upon herself to liberate a package to please her palate. The Abalone was $9.95 for a package of 5 pieces of Abalone. The Abalone comes grilled, warm and ready to eat. We cracked open the package as soon as we got home and enjoyed the Big Island farmed seafood. We loved it. Meaty and smoky flavor that is not at all fishy. The texture is a bit denser than Calamari. Cuts like a steak. This is a really good product

and a bargain at $9.95. You can buy when available at Costco or from the Big Island Abalone website www.bigislandabalone.com

Big Island Abalone Corporation (BIAC) produces Kona Coast Abalone, a premium stock of Ezo (Japanese Northern) abalone. Kona Coast Abalone are the result of over 15 years of research, intensive study, and experiments by the founders of the company. From the outset, the objective was to develop ways to simulate the positive elements of the natural ocean environment in which abalone flourish. The experiments and research led to important findings about abalone habitat, innovations in farm feeding practices, and a patented algae. The system uses a constant supply of pure, cold, nutrient-rich seawater, pumped from a depth of 3,000 feet in the Pacific Ocean. The result is a near-perfect environment for growing Kona Coast Abalone.

BIAC's facilities include a hatchery, a nursery and abalone grow-out tanks. In this way, BIAC controls the quality of the abalone from the very start of the growth cycle. A blend of algae is used to feed the abalone, optimizing abalone taste, texture, color, nutrition, and shell characteristics. BIAC maintains two million abalone in inventory on its 10-acre site.

BIAC operates a 10-acre aquafarm to serve the world market for premium, live abalone. The facility is located on Hawaii's Big Island on the Kona Coast, near the Kailua-Kona International Airport. The abalone aquafarm is one of the largest in the world.

The Kona Coast of Hawaii was chosen as the ideal location to produce abalone for several reasons. First, the Kona Coast receives more sunlight per year than any other coastal location in the USA. Such sunlight is critical for growing large volumes of abalone food: kelp. Secondly, BIAC's aquafarm has access to a constant supply of pure, cold, nutrient-rich seawater, pumped from a depth of 3,000 feet in the Pacific Ocean near the Kona Coast. This seawater is also essential for growing both Kona Coast Abalone and the kelp to feed the abalone. Lastly, Hawaii's location midway between Asia and North America allows us to ship fresh, live abalone to markets on both continents. The aquafarm currently produces 40 to 50 tons of live abalone per year and houses nearly 5 million abalone in our growout system alone.

NELHA's deepwater pipe is critical to BIAC's aquafarm. NELHA has operated a 30-inch deepwater pipe since 1974. In 2002, NELHA deployed a new 55-inch pipe that stretches to a depth of 3,000 feet, and can deliver 27,000 gallons per minute. This new pipe ensures adequate deep seawater capacity for NELHA tenants such as BIAC.