Horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay area play a vital role in the life cycles of migrating shorebirds. In the 1990s, horseshoe crabs were overharvested as bait, leading to dramatic drops in crab and red knot bird populations. Red knots are now listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
New Jersey has tried to protect red knots for about 14 years by imposing a moratorium on harvesting horseshoe crabs for bait in state-controlled waters. (They can still be taken for their blood, which contains a chemical used by the biomedical industry.)
But a recent Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) proposal would eliminate a longstanding policy decision not allowing the harvesting of any female horseshoe crabs until the populations of both crabs and red knots return to higher levels.
The American Littoral Society is urging citizens to add their voices to oppose the plan. Author and LBI resident Sandy Gingras has created an online petition at change.org/SaveHorseshoeCrabs to oppose the proposition that states:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has proposed a change in the rules governing the protection of horseshoe crabs. They want to allow the “ harvesting” of female horseshoe crabs. We believe the horseshoe crab population is already dangerously low. And the shorebird population that feeds upon their eggs is also dangerously depleted. We opposed the fisheries’ change of policy and urge them to vote no to horseshoe crab addendum VII.
The opposing view from the ASMF says that the proposed changes represent “a less than one percent chance of a red knot population decline due to the implementation of potential female harvest under the ARM Revision. Based on this analysis, the Service concludes that take, defined under the Endangered Species Act as killing or injuring of red knots, is not likely.”
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is accepting public comments from now through Friday, Sept. 30. Comments should be emailed to comments@asmfc.org, with “Horseshoe Crab Draft Addendum VIII” in the subject line.
To learn more about horseshoe crabs, go to the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition website at hscrabrecovery.org
To find out more about red knots, go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website at www.allaboutbirds.org/
More information on the FWS’s analysis of the ARM Framework Revision is available at fws.gov/media/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-evaluation-atlantic-states-marine-fisheries-commission-horseshoe
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| red knots USFWS photo |
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