[mikeg8]

It’s more than just letting urchins starve. The spines from their dead bodies prevent the bull kelp from establishing their foothold. And ocean warming is also very problematic for the kelp. Much more so than urchins.

I don’t mean to be fatalistic, but I’m realistic. One of my closest friends in the world is a marine biologist studying red abalone on the CA coast. We’ve been discussing this problem for years as it has caused the closure of the fishery, thus eliminating one of our favorite shared pastimes. We WANT to dive for abs again, but all the evidence is pointing to towards an ecosystem where that won’t be possible anytime soon.