Although abalone fishing involves less damage to the habitat compared with other fishing methods, such as trawling and dredging and there are no problems of bycatch or discards, there are a number of issues relating to impact on the ecosystem. These issues include mechanical damage from anchors, catch bags and hoses, manipulation of predators and competitors by fishermen, and translocation of marine pests. The trophic impact of the removal of abalone would not be expected to be great, any impact may relate more to competition for space, for example, abalone may out-compete sea urchins for space when food is abundant. Therefore, the sea urchin population may be an ecological indicator of the impacts on the ecosystem of removing abalone. The data on the ecological impacts of abalone fishing are insufficient, and there have not been any direct experiments on the effects of varying abalone abundance on other ecosystem components. Recent studies on marine protected areas (MPAs) indicate that the ecological effects of fishing in reef systems may have had unexpected consequences. Abalone fishing offers a rare opportunity to trace the ecological effects of fishing, and to this end, a possible experimental framework is outlined.