I will tell you right now that ignorance is not considered a viable excuse for violations, and the game wardens will show you no mercy if you are not following the rules! I almost got a ticket for a hanging chad a couple of years ago, because my punch card still had the little piece of the hole hanging from it where I had punched out my days' limit!
regulations for Abalone diving are always changing and you better make sure you have read and understand them before you head out there to get your limit of nine inchers. You can click the link to the Department of Fish & Game on the side bar of this page, or you can pick up a paperback copy at most sporting goods stores.The regulation book has some good information about Abalone as does the DFGs' website, so you should check it out.
A limit of Abalone consists of three Ablone at least seven inches across. Once a limit is picked, you cannot "high grade" (trade your Abs for bigger ones). This is something that the game wardens really look for., so only pick the ones you want the first time. If you pick an Abalone that is under the size limit, you must imediately return it to the same area that you picked it from. This is hard sometimes, but this is also one of the biggest killers of the small Abalone because if you do not replace it properly, you are leaving it vulnerable to predators. Again, the best practice is to make sure you pick legal sized Abalone the first time and avoid the risk of killing undersized Abalone! There are plenty of legal ones out there,sometimes you just have to look a little harder for them.
