Horseshoe Crab and Full Moons

Each year, around the new and full moons of May and June, the Bureau of Marine Fisheries conducts a horseshoe crab survey at Fortescue Beach and Gandy's Beach on Delaware Bay. This year, the Full Moons are May 29 and June 28.

This survey involves heading out to the beach late at night and counting thousands and thousands of horseshoe crabs into the wee hours of the morning with a head lamp.

A tagged female (left) and male (right) horseshoe crab. Females are usually larger.

"A Night On the Horseshoe Crab Survey" is one of the Day In the Life Of a Marine Fisheries Hourly series on the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife website. 

Other articles in this series:

A Day With Glass Eels
A Day On the Delaware Bay Trawl
A Day on a Recreational Fishing Survey Site Assignment
A Day in the Chem Lab: Aging Weakfish, Atlantic Croaker, and American Eels
A Day on the Bay: On the Hunt for Yellow Eels
A Day On the Ocean Trawl
A Day On the Delaware River
A Day At a Fishing Tournament
A Night On the Horseshoe Crab Survey