Horseshoe Crab Harvest Limited to Protect Endangered Red Knot Bird

No Harvest of Female Crabs from Delaware Bay in 2024, Male Harvest Increased in Mid-Atlantic

US regulators are limiting the harvest of horseshoe crabs to help rebuild its population and aid the red knot, a migratory shorebird listed as threatened.
No harvest of female horseshoe crabs that originate in the Delaware Bay will be allowed during the 2024 fishing season.
The Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population has been increasing over the last two decades.
More harvest of male horseshoe crabs in the mid-Atlantic will be allowed to compensate for the lost harvest of females.
Horseshoe crabs are used as bait for eels and sea snails, and their blue blood is used to test for potentially dangerous impurities by drug and medical device makers.