Ale isn't a "darker, more bitter version of beer." It's beer that is fermented with ale yeast, that floats on top, and not lager yeast, which sits at the bottom. Bitterness comes from hops, darkness from the malt used.
Your beer brewing friend is clearly not that smart. The main difference between an ale and lager is the type of yeast, which is divided into top fermenting and bottom fermenting varieties.
The Abalone that divers bring up here in South Australia are about 5 to 6 inches across and about 2 inches deep, that is the shell, the meat of the shell is considerably less. I don't think they get much bigger than that.