News Archives
11/30/06
Scientists Racing Clock to Find Alternative Bait
Delaware: In a research lab in Lewes, marine biologist Nancy M. Targett set out to find out why conch and eel are so attracted tohorseshoe crabs. After three years of research, Targett has an answer: It’s all in the eggs. Download the pdf.
11/17/06
Crabs Give Blood For Space Travel
Picture this: You’re on a mission to Mars, halfway there from Earth, and you’re not feeling well. Your throat hurts when you swallow, your forehead is hot. Download the pdf.
11/16/06
Crabs Give Blood for Space Travel
Alabama: You’re on a mission to Mars, halfway there from Earth, and you’re not feeling well. Your throat hurts when you swallow, your forehead is hot. You don’t want to get sick or infect your crewmates. Should you take an antibiotic? If so,which kind? Download the pdf.
09/13/06
No Emergency Listing for Threatened Red Knot
Delaware Bay: For nearly a decade, conservationists warned that dramatic measures were needed to halt a decline in population of shorebirds that feed on horseshoe crabs, like the robin-sized red knot. On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service agreed that populations of the red knot have declined significantly. But the agency stopped short of taking emergency action to list the birds as an endangered species, which conservationists say indicates the bird could be extinct within years. download the pdf.
09/13/06
No emergency listing for threatened red knot
Feds make shorebird a candidate for endangered status instead. Download the pdf.
07/18/06
Crab Blood is Gold (Or why a living fossil may save your life)
According to the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) of Delaware, whose primary focus is the conservation of the world’s four remaining horseshoe crab species, “an extract of the horseshoe crab’s blood is used by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries to ensure that their products (e.g., intravenous drugs, vaccines, and medical devices) are free of bacterial contamination. No other test works as easily or reliably for this purpose.” Read more.
06/08/06
Don’t Overlook Horseshoe Crabs in Raritan Bay
New Jersey: During May and June, thousands of Horseshoe Crabs come ashore along the sandy beaches of the Bayshore region of New Jersey to conducttheir ancient mating ritual. Wait, you are probable thinking of Delaware Bay. Yet, I am actually referring to the northern Bayshore waters ofRaritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay. The southern shoreline of New Jersey is not the only place that has lots of Horseshoe Crab activity,although you wouldn’t know it as a result of frequent newspaper and magazine articles in past years devoted to Horseshoe Crabs andDelaware Bay. download the pdf.
06/04/06
Bird Patterns Change: Red knots split feeding grounds, raising questions on future
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP – About one out of every four red knot shorebirds decided Stone Harbor and its blue mussels buffet was the place to be this spring. Download the pdf.
06/01/06
Waterman feels crabby: Officials dispute his claim that state hurting fisheries
SLAUGHTER BEACH – One Slaughter Beach waterman is seeing red, and it isn’t on the puffed-up breast of a shorebird. Download the pdf.
05/17/06
Horseshoe crab spawning attracts a crowd
The light of the full moon helped, but the miner – like headband lights worked even better for the middle schoolers from Virginia who swarmed Prime Hook Beach and waded into the Delaware Bay Saturday night. Download the pdf.
05/16/06
To Save a Shorebird, Horseshoe Crabbing Is Banned in New Jersey
In an effort to save a wide-ranging shorebird from extinction, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has banned all fishing of horseshoe crabs, the bird’s main food source, for the next two years. The moratorium, put in place yesterday, affects about 30 commercial fishermen in New
Jersey. Download the pdf.
05/12/06
Moratorium on horseshoe crabs rejected by ASMFC
The federal fisheries board has rejected a proposal that could have placed a moratorium on all horseshoe crab takes for two years. Download the pdf.
04/01/06
Oil Spill Damage to wildlife minimal
DOVER – A late April oil spill on the Delaware Bay defied nearly all negative projections. Download the pdf.
02/26/06
A tangle over crabbing, red knots
The horseshoe crab – helmet-like and ungainly, a relic from the age of dinosaurs – was once harvested by the truckload. Nobody counted, and nobody really cared. Download the pdf.
02/08/06
Crabbing ban for the birds
Banning the harvest of horseshoe crabs will affect about 35 local jobs and cost local fishermen at least
$400,000 over two years, according to state figures. Download the pdf.
02/06/06
New Jersey Proposed Moratorium on Horseshoe Crab Harvesting
New Jersey: The Division of Fish and Wildlife (Division) is proposing an amendment to N.J.A.C. 7:25-18.16 in order to provide for a moratorium on the horseshoe crab commercial bait fishery for the calendar years 2006 and 2007. The purpose of the two year moratorium on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs is to improve conditions for the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), as well as other migratory shorebirds whose survival depends upon an abundant supply of horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay. download the pdf.
02/03/06
House panel tables measure to halt horseshoe-crab catch
Horseshoe crab eggs provide vital food for migrating red knots each spring. A House panel yesterday unanimously defeated a bill aimed at saving an imperiled shorebird called the red knot. Download the pdf.
01/16/06
U.S. agency draws fire for red knot decision
The wildlife service denied an emergency request to list the birds as endangered, saying such actions are rare. Download the pdf.
01/13/06
Feds deny request on red knot; group says birds face extinction
Federal officials denied an emergency request by conservation groups to have the western Atlantic subspecies of red knot shorebirds declared an endangered species, according to shorebird advocates who contend the robin-sized birds could enter their final decline by 2010. Download the pdf.
10/09/06
Prehistoric Horseshoe Crab Under Threat in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: It has swum the waters of the earth for 400 million years, predating mankind and even the dinosaurs, but now the peculiar horseshoe crab is facing its biggest survival challenge. Download the pdf.
12/22/06
Watermen Appeal State Moratorium on Horseshoe Crabs
Delaware: Charlie Auman, a Slaughter Beach waterman, and Bernie’s Conchs, a company that buys and sells horseshoe crabs, have appealed the state’s decision to impose a moratorium. Download the pdf.
11/30/06
A Plum of a Park
Delaware: No lifeguards, no bathhouse, no cold sodas, and no hot dogs. No boardwalk over the dunes. No beach sweeper. When you’re paying the same entry fee as you would at other state park beaches, why would you want to go to the forgotten park, Beach Plum Island Nature Preserve? Download the file
08/31/06
Getting On Their Good Side
Delaware: The oft-scorned horseshoe crab is winning human friends. Download the pdf.
08/23/06
アートでカブトガニ保護訴え
Japan: 米国の環境保護団体が募った国際カブトガニアートコンテストの入賞作品巡回展が二十二日、笠岡市のJR笠岡駅西にある市民活動支援センターで始まった。日本カブトガニを守る会笠岡支部などの主催で三十一日まで。View the article
06/10/06
Communities Create Horseshoe Crab Sanctuaries
Delaware: The Delaware Bay encompasses the world’s largest horseshoe crab spawning habitat and foraging area for migrating shorebirds en route to their Arctic breeding grounds. Download the pdf.
06/01/06
Carper Sees Economic Need to Rebuild Mispillion Jetty
Delaware: Town officials say Slaughter Beach is at risk without work; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says other projects have priority. Download the pdf.
04/09/06
Meeting set for Monday to focus on horseshoe crab moratorium
New Jersey – With New Jersey moving quickly toward two years of full protection for both horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, conservation groups and fishermen are meeting Monday at Richard Stockton College to discuss the possibility of a wider moratorium. Download the pdf.