New Zealand Maori regard Paua as a magical "Gift from the Sea"

Paua shell is the New Zealand Maori tribal name for New Zealand Abalone, the most brilliant of more than 100 species of Abalones found around the world Blackfoot (Halitotis Iris). Beneath the cold southern New Zealand ocean, this huge shellfish mollusc, (like a sea snail), moves slowly across the rocks, grazing on seaweed that sways in the coastal currents. Its drab outer shell, encrusted with heavy lime deposits and tiny marine creatures, conceals an interior of iridescent colours - cool blues, sea greens, and inky purples that run into soft yellows and pinks, with flashes of gold and silver.

A drop in sea temperature causes abalones to "hibernate" or go to sleep. The layers of their shells then take a longer time to grow. The variety in colours may be the result of nutrients in the water as well as the different colours of seaweed the abalones eat. The starfish is a dangerous enemy. A few of them can wipe out a colony of pauas. The crafty starfish puts a tentacle along the line of the paua's breathing holes, thus suffocating it. Then, when the paua falls off its rocky perch, the starfish has an easy meal.

Harvested from the rocks, the shell is buffed and polished, ready to be made into lustrous jewellery that is prized throughout the world. The meat is enjoyed locally and exported to Asia. The edible part of the paua is a large muscle, or foot, by which the creature moves along its rocky environment. The Maori have also used the shell for fishing lures and decorations, as well as for jewellery and for eyes in their carvings. To ensure the Paua's survival, the New Zealand Government protects the shellfish with a strict quota system relating to size and harvesting.