Forensic genetic identification of abalone (Haliotis spp.) of the northeastern Pacific Ocean

International trade in abalone meats, exclusive of their shells, is a lucrative business based upon both legally and illegally harvested abalone from many jurisdictions. The inability to visually identify abalone meat to species in the absence of the shell impedes enforcement efforts to reduce the illegal exploitation of the world's abalone resources. We describe species-specific DNA sequences for the gamete recognition proteins, sperm lysin and vitelline egg receptor for lysin, and their use in forensic species identification among abalone of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Some commercially relevant abalone species from the Northern and Southern hemispheres can be differentiated on the basis of the length of the second intron of the sperm lysin gene. The seven North American species of abalone that occupy the waters of Mexico, the USA and Canada can be distinguished based on sequence differentiation in the first three repeats of the vitelline receptor gene.