The State - News from Feb. 2, 1988

Vandals apparently dumped poison into tanks at Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s marine biology lab near San Luis Obispo, killing thousands of commercial abalone worth more than $177,000, authorities said. The shellfish belonged to Abalone Unlimited Inc. “The evidence points to a deliberate act,” said Hugh Staton, president of Abalone Unlimited. “We would really like to know why it was done. We don’t have a clue as to who, what or why.”