Connoisseurs of fine food are coming to terms with the news that abalone from South Africa may soon be off the menu.

The South African government has announced plans to make Haliotis midae a protected species under CITES Appendix III (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) beginning May 3.

Haliotis midae, or perlemoen abalone, is the largest species of the luxury seafood in South Africa and can be found along two-thirds of its coastline. However, due to illegal harvesting its numbers are dwindling.

South African Abalone for sale in a Hong Kong market

In recent years the conservation of endangered species has led to a reduced supply of several types of dried seafood including shark's fin and nostoc. It has also forced Chinese people to forgo, or at least limit, many of their favorite dishes.

Now Hong Kongers might be forced to add perlemoen to their lists of "forbidden foods."

Local restaurateurs and dried seafood wholesalers, however, are not too worried about the ban. The product, for now at least, is still on the market, and suppliers are pragmatic about the future, saying consumers can always turn to alternatives.

Sheung Fai, manager of the Super Rich Seafood Restaurant, told China Daily that supplies of natural dried seafood were scant.

Higher Prices

Sheung, who has 30 years experience in the trade, said prices had risen considerably in recent years, but this had not damaged business because he offered nostoc as an alternative.

Nostoc is a popular dish in China, especially during the Lunar New Year, largely because of its Chinese pronunciation "facai," which sounds similar to the words for "making a fortune."

Although the central government made it illegal to harvest nostoc several years ago, it is still available "everywhere" for HK$200-300 a kilo, which is "not especially expensive," Sheung said.

While his restaurant offers more than just seafood, Sheung said he was a little worried about the pending ban on perlemoen because it has always been a popular choice.

In the future, he said, if customers wanted the delicacy he would be able to provide it, but at an inflated price.

Lo, who owns Yau Tai Marine Products Ltd in Sheung Wan, said it was understandable that supplies of dried seafood were on the decline because, as a natural product, stocks would always be limited.

He added that as a wholesaler he can only ever sell what is available and he was not "too worried" about the recent bans on selected products.

Lo said perlemoen was quite popular with his customers, so if supplies from South Africa did dry up he would source the delicacy from other countries, such as Japan and Australia.

(China Daily March 20, 2007)