Email Writing Campaign to Better Protect Horseshoe Crabs in MA Waters.

Watercolor by Kathy Miller

Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus)

Horseshoe Crabs are a marine crustacean that has lived on planet earth for over 445 million years. This living fossil plays an important role in marine ecosystems and in human health. However, Horseshoe Crab populations are decreasing across the state of MA and more needs to be done to protect them. Learn about this amazing and ancient species and see how you can help protect the Horseshoe Crab in Massachusetts' waters.

Overview:

Horseshoe Crabs are bioturbators that dig-up bottom sediments in search of prey or when nesting in shallow water. The shell of the Horseshoe Crab is often covered in algae, slipper shells, and barnacles that hitch a ride on this slow-moving, tank-shaped animal. Horseshoe Crabs help control populations of various benthic invertebrates targeted as prey and they themselves are a food source for other marine animals. The fertilized eggs of Horseshoe Crabs are an important source of energy for many animals, including arctic nesting shorebirds like Red Knots and Ruddy Turnstones.

Spawning Season Brings Horseshoe Crabs into Shallow Water:

The Horseshoe Crab spawning season starts in April and continues through June. Adults move from deep offshore waters to shallow inshore waters where nesting occurs. Males follow females inshore and will try to attach to her back shell so they can be present when she spawns. Males are smaller in size than females and only 1 male can attach directly to her back. However, other males, called satellite males, crowd around this love-pair hoping to also provide sperm for egg fertilization.

Why are they in Trouble? 

Horseshoe crab populations are in decline in the coastal waters of Massachusetts due to a number of factors:

• over harvesting by the commerical bait industry (eel, conch and whelk)
• loss of spawning habitat due to sea level rise and armoring of our shorelines
• use the biomedical industry for an essential medical safety resource (LAL)

The Bait Industry:

The bait industry is composed of local hand harvesters and offshore trawlers. Hand harvesters collect Horseshoe Crabs along shorelines during the spring spawning season, whereas trawlers catch crabs when participating in the mixed species trawl fishery in late spring through the fall in Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. The bait industry is allowed to harvest thousands of Horseshoe Crabs for use in the commercial eel, whelk, and conch fisheries and can currently take up to 165,000 crabs each season. Although DMF has placed closures around the Full and New Moons during the spring spawning events, Horseshoe Crabs, including spawning females, can be taken at other times over the course of the season. 

The Biomedical Industry:

The biomedical industry harvest collects thousands of Horseshoe Crabs and bleeds them to extract a natural source of Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) from their blue blood. Since the 1970's, products in Horseshoe Crab blood has been used to ensure the sterility of medical equipment and other tools, including all injectable drugs (such as vaccines), medical equipment, and surgical implants. LAL is a protein coagulation system that detects contamination by dangerous bacterial toxins called endotoxins. There is an alternative or man-made derivative to Horseshoe Crab blood called recombinant Factor C or rFC for short. Studies have shown rFC to be just as effective as Horseshoe Crab LAL. This synthetic material, rFC, has been approved in over 60 countries, including the EU and China, but the US has not move forward with final approval.  

 

As a side note, lunar closures by DMF for bait harvesting and biomedical bleeding has not shown to be effective in managing this species. Research indicates that water temperature is a key environmental factor in spawning not lunar cycles. Therefore, DMF's current management scheme is outdated and in great need of revision. To read a 2016 study on this topic from the University of New Hampshire, click HERE.

Why a Letter Writing Campaign: Letter writing campaigns allow the general public to voice their support or concern for wildlife conservation and management plans and practices in their area. These type of public campaigns can be successful, especially if large numbers of people write letters regarding a state or federal plan or practice. One such example is a 2023 letter writing campaign against lifting the moratorium on the harvest of female Horseshoe Crabs in Delaware Bay. Over 30,000 letters supporting the moratorium were received by Delaware officials who recently decided to keep the moratorium in place due to the large outcry from the public.

Horseshoe Crab Management: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) manages the Horseshoe Crab on a federal level and the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) manages this species on a state level. The ASMFC developed a Horseshoe Crab Fishery Management Plan and oversees spawning areas in all Atlantic states. DMF has recently sent a memorandum to the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission with changes to Commercial Horseshoe Crab limits for 2023. We support a number of these changes and that is the basis for this letter writing campaign.   One change that DMF is proposing is to adopt a January 1 through May 31 closer to all Horseshoe Crab harvesting and rescind the existing five-day closers around each new and full moon. DMF is also proposing to reduce the bait quota by 25,000 individuals, from 165,000 to 140,000 horseshoe crabs. DMF is also requesting daily electronic reporting for all bait and biomedical harvesters. This would eliminate the lag time that occurs with the current reporting system and would keep harvesters from surpassing their quotas. DMF is requesting additional changes but we feel these are the most important to address.   We also feel that DMF should eliminate any harvesting of Horseshoe Crabs for commercial bait since DMF considers whelk to be depleted throughout their range in Massachusetts' waters. DMF's 2018 stock assessment for Channeled Whelk indicated that the resource was overfished with overfishing occurring in Nantucket Sound. The harvesting and killing of thousands of Horseshoe Crabs to support a failing fishery is not the type of management that DMF should be providing.    To read DMF's proposed Regulatory Amendments for Horseshoe Crabs (322 CMR 6.34, 7.01, and 7.04), click HERE    To read DMF's memorandum to the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission From Dan McKiernan Subject: Proposal to Adult Commercial Horseshoe Crab Limits for 2023  click HERE Letter of Support for the Horseshoe Crab: Please write DMF and let them know that you are concerned about the future of Horseshoe Crabs and indicate what measures you would like them to put in place in future management plans. And if you can, please attend one of the two public meetings DMF is offering.  Send Written Comments To: DMF is accepting written public comments through May 1, 2023 by 5 pm. Submit your comments to Director Daniel McKiernan at marine.fish@mass.gov   In-Person Public Hearings: DMF is offering 2 in-person public hearings:  Monday, April 24, 2023 at 6 pm Hotel 1620, 180 Water Street Plymouth, MA and  Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 6 pm DMF's Annisquam River Field Station, 30 Emerson Avenue Gloucester, MA  01930   Please share this post and thank you for your concern and interest in this matter. Better management plans and more sustainable practices are desperately needed if Horseshoe Crabs are to survive. There is no doubt that this species is important from both an environmental perspective and an economic one. We need to work hard to protect Horseshoe Crabs and other species to ensure their future as well as our own.  Thank you, NECWA ===========================================================     DRAFT EMAIL TO DMF Submit your comments to Director Daniel McKiernan at marine.fish@mass.gov Here is a draft email that you can tweak and send to DMF. Remember, all emails must be received by May 1, 2023.  Dear Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF):    I am writing to express my great concern about the future of Horseshoe Crabs in Massachusetts and to register my request to please put better measures in place to protect them going forward.     DMF's current management scheme is outdated and in serious need of revision. I understand that the agency recently sent a memo to the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission with changes to Commercial Horseshoe Crab limits for 2023.    I am writing in support of those modifications related to 1) further restriction of harvesting dates, 2) significantly reducing bait quotas, and 3) requesting daily electronic reporting for all bait and biomedical harvesters. I also strongly support the elimination of any harvesting of Horseshoe Crabs for commercial bait; since the DMF already considers whelk to be depleted, it makes no sense to continue supporting a failing fishery to the detriment of another very important species, the Horseshoe Crab.   To ensure the survival of Horseshoe Crabs, much better management plans and more sustainable practices are desperately needed as soon as possible. This species is important from both an environmental perspective and an economic one. Horseshoe Crabs deserve a lot more attention and respect than they are currently receiving. I sincerely hope that your organization will work hard to protect the Horseshoe Crab as well as other species whose success is so closely tied to our own.   Thank you for your time and attention to this critical issue.   Regards, Jane Doe Your Town, MA ===========================================================