We document the first occurrence of a live red abalone, Haliotis rufescens Swainson, 1822, found on the central coast of British Columbia. The initial identification was based on morphological characteristics. Previously, the northern or “pinto” abalone Haliotis kamtschatkana kamtschatkana Jonas, 1845 has been the only abalone species considered to naturally occur in the coastal waters of British Columbia. Since hybridization of H. kamtschatkana with H. rufescens was known to occur, genetic analysis of tissue samples was undertaken to confirm the morphological identification as a purebred red abalone.