Abalone shells are often used for smudging ceremonies by the Native Americans in the United States and Canada.
The polished abalone shells have been highly polished to a beautiful sheen inside and out. It takes about four hours to polish one shell. These are beautiful decorative pieces or they can be used for inlay on rifle stocks, knives, and other items.
Shells that are 5.5" and larger are Wild. Smaller than 5.5" shells are Ranch-raised.
The larger shells (5.5" and larger) are generally from wild stock found in the ocean. These shells were harvested legally by commercial canning operations in South Africa. Because of over harvesting and rampant poaching, the wild stocks are under threat. The smaller shells are almost all from commercial aquaculture operations and are a renewable resource that is not under any threat.
This particular species of abalone was placed under CITES III trade controls by South Africa in May 2007. In June 2010, the South African government removed the CITES status on this shell. No CITES permits are required any longer.