The waters east of Cape Hangklip were once the center of a lucrative wild-caught abalone
fishery, but illegal fishing in the mid-1990s escalated to such levels that the recreational fishery
was closed in 2003. When abalones did not rebound, commercial fishing was also banned.
Continue declines in abalone were attributed to poaching, but an invasion by rock lobsters
during the early 1990s probably intensified the trend. Rock lobsters prey on sea urchins, and
increased rock lobster densities coincided with significant decreases in urchins. In that area,
urchins feed largely by trapping drift kelp, and in doing so provide juvenile abalone with both
protective shelter and nourishment. Without urchins’ presence, juvenile abalones are less
likely to survive to adulthood.
1. According to the passage, since the early 1900s, sea urchins in the waters east of Cape
Hangklip have
A. significantly changed their feeding habits
B. suffered increased predation from a certain species
C. experienced increased competition for kelp, their main source of nourishment
D. seen a sharp decline in the availability of kelp, due to environmental changes
E. rebounded as commercial fishing in the region has declined