Horseshoe Crab Limits on the Atlantic Seaboard

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is in the process of deciding whether to adopt a limit or moratorium on horseshoe crab harvests in along the Atlantic Seaboard. The last time they took up this issue, they decided to issue a harvest limit of 100,000 male crabs per state. New Jersey decided to go a step further and place a moratorium on horseshoe crab harvests within state borders, but other critical states, such as Delaware, have stuck to the ASMFC standard.

Red knots depend for food on these ancient creatures during migration; in recent years, they have not been able to get enough to survive as a species. A moratorium is the surest way to regrow the horseshoe crab population sufficiently for red knots to survive. Encourage ASMFC to approve a moratorium.