Posted by Dave on May 28, 2004 at 18:34:00:
For areas where abalone take is legal, the proper technique for using a flat prybar aka iron is to slide it in quite quickly, but then pry upwards with the portion in your hand, not push downards downwards. By prying upwards with the portion in your hand, the edge of the shell becomes more of a driving force in contact with the iron rather then the foot of the animal bearign the brunt of the tip of the iron being driven upwards to its center.
This technique is far less likely to cause injury to the animal in the event it subsequently measures up too short.