Posted by seahunt on May 27, 2004 at 22:20:33:
In Reply to: Here's the article posted by Max Bottomtime on May 27, 2004 at 21:42:51:
"predation by sea urchins" ... That sounds accurate too ....
I don't doubt the article said that they were cut. I just have to be skeptical. My experience is that if you are in a hurry, you do a clean pop. If you are stabbing them, you are fighting with them. You are a clumsy twit that doesn't have any experience, not professional divers. I can see that some in deeper holes might get hacked. Still, I really must believe that most would have been popped off cleanly. Just from my long experience.
Also abalone are intertidal and reds may be found occasionally above the water line at even a moderately low tide.
I could be completely wrong, but notice in the first article the comment about the shortage of personal. I doubt the F&G wanted to use the resources to try to put the abs back. Why should they? From their point of view it doesn't matter any.
From the point of view of the poachers, they want healthy game to sell that makes it to market (a long way off) unspoiled.
The picture, in Photoshop, shows little. One is hanging out of its shell like it is injured.
Call me a skeptic, but logic is what I am using here along with a good deal of experience.