Littoral Society Joins Petition to have Horseshoe Crabs Declared Endangered Species

The American Littoral Society has joined more than 20 partners — led by the Center for Biological Diversity, and including the Humane Society and the American Bird Conservancy — to petition the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to list the horseshoe crab under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
 
The effort to have horseshoe crabs declared an endangered species is prompted by the ongoing crash of horseshoe crab populations, which is the result of of overharvesting and habitat loss, as well as the importance the crabs play in an intricate web of life that encompasses fish and other aquatic species, along with migratory shorebirds that rely on the crabs' eggs to fuel their journeys.
 
"Despite habitat restoration work and extensive advocacy on our part, which has included a successful campaign in the early 1990s for a New Jersey moratorium on harvesting horseshoe crabs, as well as having Red Knots listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014, the horseshoe crab population has not recovered from the extensive damage done by overharvesting in the 1990's," said Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the American Littoral Society. "The crabs also face the ongoing challenge from efforts by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to increase the allowable harvest, which further erodes our confidence that the current governmental management priorities will aid the recovery of the crabs or the birds."

​“We’re wiping out one of the world’s oldest and toughest creatures,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These living fossils urgently need Endangered Species Act protection. Horseshoe crabs have saved countless human lives, and now we should return the favor.”

The petition sets in motion a specific process requiring NOAA Fisheries to make an initial finding that there is “substantial scientific or commercial information" indicating that such status is warranted.
 
Horseshoe crabs are not just ancient mariners navigating coastal waters for millions of years; they are ecological linchpins. In addition to their eggs providing a crucial food source, the unique blue blood of horseshoe crabs contains a substance that has been crucial in medical testing to detect bacterial contamination. While horseshoe crab blood can be taken without killing crabs, there is mounting evidence that the methods used by biomedical companies to bleed the crabs are also contributing to the population decline.
 
A number of scientific studies have shown that horseshoe crab spawning numbers in the Delaware Bay estuary  -- which contains the largest single horseshoe crab population in the world — are down two-thirds from 1990.

Likewise, there has been a marked decrease in the number of eggs the crabs leave behind on spawning beaches — along with a simultaneous crash of shorebird populations that rely on those eggs. In an analysis recently published in the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, biologist Larry Niles and his colleagues summarize four decades of egg-abundance data from New Jersey spawning beaches, reporting that egg numbers have fallen by more than 90 percent since the 1980s.
 
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the Center for Biological Diversity has filed a petition to have horseshoe crabs listed as endangered species under the ESA. The petition aims to garner attention and support to implement conservation measures that will safeguard the horseshoe crab population and, by extension, the ecosystems that rely on them.
 
Gaining endangered species status would make it unlawful to harm or kill a horseshoe crab without a special permit. The petition also seeks to have the places where horseshoe crabs live and spawn designated as "critical habitat" so that they would be protected, especially during spawning season.
 
Joining the Center, the Humane Society and American Bird Conservancy in petitioning for the horseshoe crab are the American Littoral Society, New Jersey Audubon, Delaware Audubon, Maryland Ornithological Society, Healthy Gulf, Humane Society Legislative Fund, League of Women Voters of New Jersey, Revive & Restore, One Hundred Miles, The Safina Center, Wild Cumberland, Forest Keeper, Coastal Expeditions Foundation, Mobile Baykeeper, Shark River Cleanup Coalition, Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance, Save Coastal Wildlife and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.