Push for governor to sign Horseshoe Crab Protection Act intensifies ...

Environmental advocates have launched a full-court press to get Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would ban the harvesting of horseshoe crabs in New York.

The Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, passed by the State Legislature in June bans the taking of horseshoe crabs from New York waters for commercial fishing or biomedical purposes. Hochul has until the end of the year to sign the bill into law. 

The legislation aims to protect an ancient species advocates say plays a vital role in the marine ecosystem but its decline is so serious they describe the  arthropod as “on the brink of local extinction.” 

Horseshoe crabs, which evolved more than 200 million years ago, are found from Nova Scotia to Mexico and live year-round in Long Island Sound. Its decline, due to harvesting and habitat loss, is documented by the Long Island Sound Study research.

Horseshoe crabs are an important bait for commercial fishermen of whelk and eel. Horseshoe crab is the only usable bait for commercial fishermen catching whelk, Rob Carpenter of the Long Island Farm Bureau told Times Beacon Record Newspapers in June. The bill would severely impact Long Island’s commercial fishing industry, he said.

Horseshoe crabs are also harvested for biomedical purposes. Their blood is used to perform safety checks for a variety of vaccines, injectable drugs, intravenous solutions and implantable medical devices such as pacemakers. Pharmaceutical companies have been developing synthetic alternatives to the horseshoe crab’s blood, and the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) is in the process of adopting guidelines for synthetic alternatives to horseshoe crab blood. The guidelines are expected to become official in May. 

Under current New York State law, the horseshoe crab is a fishery managed by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, which by regulation has imposed daily trip limits and an annual quota of 150,000 horseshoe crabs.

The Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, sponsored by Assembly Member Deborah Glick  and State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, both Democrats who represent districts in Manhattan, passed the legislature in largely party-line votes in both chambers. 

The East End legislative delegation, State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Assembly Members Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor) and Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow), opposed the bill.

Giglio told Newsday in June she feared the ban would put some commercial fishermen on Long Island out of business because horseshoe crabs are the best bait for conk and eel.

Over the past three decades, the horseshoe crab population has crashed and their habitat is rapidly disappearing, according to a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity in February, asking the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to list the Atlantic horseshoe crab as an endangered or threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“American horseshoe crab populations have crashed primarily due to habitat loss and overharvesting by commercial fisheries and biomedical industries. In 2022, nearly one million crabs were harvested for biomedical bleeding, including female crabs. Biomedical harvests also can occur at any time of year, including during spawning season. Horseshoe crab blood harvests have nearly doubled since 2017,” the petition states.

Overharvesting for bait in the 1990s decimated the populations along the Atlantic coast, the Center for Biological Diversity said in its petition. The populations have never recovered and remain at one-third of what they were before the overharvesting of the 1990s.

“Despite low horseshoe crab populations and egg densities, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission…in 2021… recommend[ed] increased horseshoe crab harvests and harvests of female horseshoe crabs,” the petition states. 

The horseshoe crab’s overall vulnerability to climate change was ranked by NOAA as “very high” in 2023, according to the petition. 

“Sea level rise and extreme weather events fueled by climate change have resulted in the destruction of spawning beach habitat. Shoreline hardening through sea walls, jetties, and bulkheads, has further degraded horseshoe crab habitat. Habitat loss has reduced the available grounds for spawning horseshoe crabs and their eggs. Dredging and harbor deepening have increased across the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and resulted in substantial mortality events for horseshoe crabs and destruction of their habitat,” the petition continues. 

The Group for the East End, based in Southold, has launched an email campaign to urge Hochul to sign the bill. 

“While horseshoe crabs have played an integral role in the biomedical and commercial fishery industries, it has been to their detriment. Alternatives for biomedical use of horseshoe crab blood exist and have become mainstream,” the Group for the East End said. 

“If alternatives are not utilized for commercial bait, the horseshoe crab population will likely continue to decline beyond repair. What impacts might this have on the fishery industry if action isn’t taken?” the organization said on its website.

Connecticut adopted “stringent regulations” last year to help boost horseshoe crab populations, Group for the East End notes. That will likely increase harvest rates in New York waters, the organization said.

The DEC’s management strategy “has brought horseshoe crabs to the brink of local extinction,” Group for the East End says.

The organization has published an online form for sending a message to the governor urging her to sign the legislation. Access the form here.

“This legislation will allow the populations to recover and ensure the survival of this important species,” Citizens Campaign for the Environment said in a press release yesterday. “Governor Hochul has been reluctant to sign the bill, and she only has 6 more weeks to do so.”

The Farmingdale-based organization released a letter yesterday written by conservation scientist Jane Goodall to Hochul on Nov. 12, asking the governor to sign the bill into law.

“By signing this bill, you can ensure the survival of the horseshoe crab and the many species that depend on it,” Goodall wrote.  “I have devoted my life to preserving the planet and I hope together, we can make a lasting difference in this important corner of the world.”

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