What is Withering Syndrome?
In 1985, commercial abalone divers working the near-shore waters of Santa Cruz Island off southern California reported finding large numbers of sick and dying abalone. Initially limited to black abalone, affected animals were severely shrunken inside their shells. These weakened animals could not maintain their normal grip on the rock substrate and large quantities of empty shells indicated that massive die-offs had occurred in place. The term “Withering Syndrome” was coined to describe this malady: progressive atrophy of the foot muscle, weakness, weight loss, lethargy, little response to touch and eventual starvation. Within a few years, Withering Syndrome was found to have spread to animals along the entire California coastline south of Pt. Conception and into Mexico. Worse, the malady was found to affect green, pink, and red abalone as well as blacks. In 1998, Dr. Carolyn Friedman determined that Withering Syndrome is the terminal phase of a bacterial infection. Once animals exhibi
