In May and June, tens-of-thousands of red knots (an imperiled long-distance migratory bird) will make their way to the Atlantic coast where they can refuel on their 9,000 mile journey. This stopover coincides with the horseshoe crab spawning season. The eggs left behind by horseshoe crabs are a crucial food source for red knots–which have declined by more than 94% since the 1980s in some areas of the Atlantic Coast and are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Their alarming decline is due in part to the depletion of their critical food source–horseshoe crab eggs. Populations of horseshoe crabs have declined by two-thirds in their largest population, the Delaware Bay.
The decline of horseshoe crabs is caused by multiple factors including use as bait in commercial fisheries and increasing use by the biomedical industry. Companies use horseshoe crab blood in tests and have nearly doubled the numbers of horseshoe crabs harvested in just seven years.
There are synthetic alternatives to horseshoe crab blood tests in use in Europe, but companies in the U.S. have been slow to adopt the alternatives.
Protecting horseshoe crabs and their habitat under the Endangered Species Act can not only reverse the decline of this prehistoric species but can help to save red knots.
Please add your name to the petition to the Secretary of Commerce who oversees NOAA Fisheries asking that horseshoe crabs be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
