News Archives

Archive for 2011

Horseshoe Crabs in the Americas

09/22/11

Corbett to Release $15 Million to Continue Deepening of Delaware River Shipping Canal

Delaware Bay: To continue the 103-mile deepening of the Delaware River shipping channel, Gov. Corbett announced Wednesday that Pennsylvania would immediately release $15 million to dredge the next four- to five-milestretch of the river. As the project’s local sponsor, Pennsylvania footed the $30 million cost of deepening to 45 feet, from 40 feet,the first 13-mile section of channel last year. download the pdf.

09/16/11

Delaware Audubon Society, et al., v. Ken Salazar, et al.,

Delaware: Memorandum Opinion, Plaintiffs Delaware Audubon Society and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (“PEER”) oppose a plan by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) to build berms and repair sand dunes on and adjacent to the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. download the pdf.

09/14/11

New Jersey Should Invest in Horseshoe Crabs, Biologist Says

Delaware Bay: It sounds like ghoulish business, but drawing blood from horseshoe crabs is worth at least $200 million a year, with steadily growing demand — and increasing worries that the supply could diminish. download the pdf.

08/04/11

Horseshoe Crab Board Initiates Addendum VII to Implement Adaptive Management

Virginia: The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board voted to initiate Addendum VII to implement the Adaptive Resource Management framework. The framework, under development since 2007, will incorporate both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels when considering the optimized horseshoe crab harvest level for the Delaware Bay area. The ARM framework was developed by the Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey in recognition of the importance of horseshoe crab eggs to shorebirds in the Delaware Bay Region and was peer-reviewed in 2009. download the pdf.

07/28/11

Horseshoe Crab Survey Funding Secured

Virginia: Full funding for the 2011 Virginia Tech Horseshoe Crab Trawl Survey has been secured through a matching donation from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). NFWF funds match the combined $100,000 contribution from Lonza Walkersville, Inc. and Charles River Laboratory, providing the full $200,000 needed for survey operations in 2011. download the pdf.

07/08/11

Friday Fossil

Canada: Although it’s admittedly very pretty, Mesolimulus is actually a friday fossil because, if you were to wander along the Northwest Atlantic coast, you be forgiven for thinking Mesolimulus had become depetrified, had crawled out of the museums it was held in and had returned to the oceans once again. download the pdf.

07/05/11

Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs Knotted Together

Delaware Bay: Speculation that the welfare of a small, at-risk shorebird is directly tied to horseshoe crab populations is in part supported by new scientific research, according to a U.S. Geological Survey- led study published in Ecosphere, a journal of the Ecological Society of America. download the pdf.

07/02/11

How the Life-Saving Blue Blood of Horseshoe Crabs Is Extracted

South Carolina: Inside of Horseshoe crabs, the primitive-looking arthropods that can be found scurrying across the muddy and sandy bottoms of the ocean floor in shallow waters, is a powder-blue blood that you probably owe your life to. download the pdf.

06/28/11

Horseshoe Crabs Surveyed on Martha’s Vineyard

Massachusetts: This story began a year ago. There were four of us volunteers in the moonlight, standing on a beach at Tashmoo under a full moon. With the tide at its highest the occasion might have been considered romantic, if one were not engaged in a serious scientific enterprise. Our eyes were fixed on the slow ripples coming to dissipate on the sand at our feet. download the pdf.

06/20/11

Students, Volunteers Help SoundWaters Research Horseshoe Crabs

Connecticut: SoundWaters, a Stamford-based environmental education organization, is in its fifth year of tagging and researching the docile creatures, Shemitz said. Each year, students from Stamford Public Schools and public volunteers help the nonprofit engage in an important scientific study of the horseshoe crab’s travel habits by tagging the creatures that come near the shore, she said. download the pdf.

06/20/11

Would a Horseshoe Crab Harvest Ban Save the Red Knot?

Maryland: This much seems indisputable: The over-harvest of horseshoe crabs has contributed to the red knots’ plight. But exactly how much so — and even whether a moratorium on the crabs is justified — is not quite so clear. download the pdf.

06/18/11

Birds Gamble on Survival on Shores of Delaware Bay

Delaware Bay: Changing water temperatures and more frequent, intense storms seem to disrupt the synchronization of the spawning of crabs and the birds that rely on them for food to fuel a 10,000-mile spring migration. download the pdf.

06/18/11

Under a Full Moon, a Search for Horseshoe Crabs

New York: The full moon rose blood-pink over the Rockaways Wednesday night. On Plum Beach in Brooklyn, a narrow stretch of unpristine sand stashed behind a notorious Belt Parkway rest area, it was time to count the horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

06/09/11

Lower Township Clears Way for Stairs After Seawall Left Residents Cut Off

New Jersey: The township has agreed to be liable for a set of stairs that could finally give Redwood Avenue residents access to the beach. The agreement could settle a key issue that has been preventing the residents from getting to the water. download the pdf.

06/03/11

Cape Cod Needs Crab Counters

Massachusetts: Horseshoe crabs at Dowse’s Beach in Osterville doing their best to continue the species. Researchers of these ancient creatures say that’s a good thing. download the pdf.

05/26/11

Horseshoe Crabs Day at Sandy Point State Park

Maryland: On a beautiful beach of Sandy Point State Park all week, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting Raising Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom field days for students of schools participating in a special program about this important species. download the pdf.

05/22/11

Red Knot Shorebirds in Decline

Delaware Bay: After a couple of years of relative stability, the western Atlantic population of red knot shorebirds are in a nosedive again, and researchers are on Delaware Bay this spring looking for clues. download the pdf.

05/21/11

Researchers Want to Raise Horseshoe Crabs From Eggs, and Hopefully Replenish the Species

New Jersey: Woodruff works at the university’s aquaculture facility in Lower Township, where the staff cultivates oysters. But they are looking to expand their scope to raise horseshoe crabs from eggs for release back into the wild to give the creatures a head-start against hungry predators. download the pdf.

05/19/11

Liquid Crystal Droplets Could Replace Horseshoe Crab Blood in Common Endotoxin Test

Wisconsin: Researchers at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin- Madison have found what may be a more effective way to test for endotoxin that involves liquid crystals, the same material used to make some flat screen computer monitors and televisions. download the pdf.

05/03/11

State Announces May and June Horseshoe Crab Closures

Massachusetts: Last month, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries released a calendar of horseshoe crab closures. download the pdf.

04/27/11

Beachgoers Can Help Biologists Learn About Spawning Horseshoe Crabs

Florida: This spring, mating horseshoe crabs will gather at sandy beaches throughout the state. Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionʼs (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute need help from the public to identify horseshoe crab spawning areas. download the pdf.

04/15/11

Volunteers Needed to Help Tag Horseshoe Crabs with Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

Connecticut: It may not be sweet romance but the spring moons soon will be drawing male and female horseshoe crabs up onto our beaches for an annual mating ritual. Staff from The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk will be on hand to greet them. But your help is needed. download the pdf.

03/22/11

Shoreline Protection to Remain in Maurice River

New Jersey: If the government makes another engineering mistake, according to Capt. George Kumor, there should be a performance bond required to protect residents from the consequences. download the pdf.

03/07/11

New Jersey Seeks To Have Red Knots Listed As Endangered

New Jersey: In the awkward and contentious dance that wildlife advocates, fishing interests, andregulators are engaged in over the intertwined lives of the horseshoe crab and a tinyshorebird, New Jersey has taken the latest step. download the pdf.

02/15/11

Fight Over Dredging Continues

Delaware Bay: Five environmental groups from Delaware and New Jersey have appealed federal court rulings in those two states allowing the Philadelphia District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with a project to deepen the Delaware River shipping channel. The move comes days after the Delaware Riverkeeper Network highlighted a Delaware report criticizing corps plans to replenish beaches. download the pdf.

01/19/11

Biomedical Companies Pledge Over $100,000 to Continue Horseshoe Crab Survey

Virginia: The biomedical companies Lonza Walkersville, Inc., Associates of Cape Cod, Inc., and Charles River Laboratory have together pledged over $100,000 to support the Horseshoe Crab Trawl Survey for 2011. download the pdf.

 

Horseshoe Crabs in Asia

11/11/11

Horseshoe Crabs Take Revenge on Phuket Tourists

Thailand: Eating horseshoe crabs may not be very good for the stomach. download the pdf.

04/17/11

Success for CityU, Ocean Park Horseshoe Crab Program

Hong Kong: Over 100 horseshoe crabs were released into the wild at Ha Pak Nai, an ecologically sensitive piece of wetland in the north western part of Hong Kong, on a programme launched by City University of Hong Kong (CityU), Ocean Park Academy, Hong Kong (OPAHK), and Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong (OPCFHK) on 17 April. download the pdf.

02/04/11

Test Kit for Tetrodotoxin in Puffer Fish and Mangrove Horseshoe Crab

Thailand: The Public Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Sciences has created a world first by perfecting a 15 minute high accuracy test kit for tetrodotoxin in puffer fish and mangrove horseshoe crab. download the pdf.

01/06/11

2nd International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

Hong Kong: In early 2005, ERDG and a number of horseshoe crab biologists and conservationists from around the world began discussions about the need to have a forum in which we could meet, exchange ideas, and plan future research and conservation strategies. This effort culminated in the 1st International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs, held in New York, USA, in the fall of 2007. After which, it was decided to hold these workshops every four years at locations throughout the four horseshoe crab species spawning range. The second workshop will be held in Hong Kong, June 13 -16, 2011. learn more

 

Horseshoe Crabs in Europe

ERDG in the News

08/30/11

Survivors by Richard Fortey

United Kingdom: Richard Fortey accumulated lots of air miles and generated a veritable hecatomb of unfinished in-flight meals whilewriting this book (and as an employee of the Natural History Museum that means economy class cuisine). He visitedNew Zealand, Alaska and other US states, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Newfoundland (where, off MistakenPoint, the “bones of 50 ships lie offshore, waiting to be fossilised”), Australia, Malaysia, Majorca, Singapore,Germany, Portugal, mainland China, Spitsbergen and even south Wales (where, when we eat laver bread with itsprimitive seaweed ingredient, we “munch at a Pre-Cambrian trough”). download the pdf.

06/20/11

Grand Opening of Horseshoe Crab Exhibition

Taiwan: A photographic collection of the grand opening of the horseshoe crab exhibition at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Taiwan can be seen on ERDG’s Facebook page. The horseshoe crab art that grace the walls and hang from the ceiling, is a compilation of eleven years of student art from ERDG’s Young Voices Horseshoe Crabs in the Arts program, representing the countries of United States, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and India.

06/10/11

Horseshoe Crabs and Paper Arts Reception

New Jersey: Young artists and environmental stewards celebrate horseshoe crabs in a Children’s Exhibition at Perkins Center for the Arts, Collingswood, New Jersey. download the pdf.

06/06/11

Horseshoe Crab Conservation Fund Fundraiser

Delaware: Coastal Kayak in Fenwick Island is hosting a fundraiser for The Horseshoe Crab Conservation Fund of the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG). Coastal Kayak is offering a guided kayak eco-tour of a Salt Marsh on Sunday, June 12 from 3:30 pm – approximately 6:30 pm. All proceeds from the tour will be donated to the organization. download the pdf.

05/23/11

Jersey Shore Town Becomes Haven for Crabs

New Jersey: Downe Township, New Jersey is entering its first migratory season as a member of the Backyard Stewardship™ Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary Program. download the pdf.

05/16/11

The Remarkable Success Story of the Horseshoe Crab

South Carolina: Short video by Charles River about the use of horseshoe crabs in their endotoxin detection products and how they implement best practices to conserve the resource. The Remarkable Success Story of the Horseshoe Crab


01/06/11

2nd International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

Hong Kong: In early 2005, ERDG and a number of horseshoe crab biologists and conservationists from around the world began discussions about the need to have a forum in which we could meet, exchange ideas, and plan future research and conservation strategies. This effort culminated in the 1st International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs, held in New York, USA, in the fall of 2007. After which, it was decided to hold these workshops every four years at locations throughout the four horseshoe crab species spawning range. The second workshop will be held in Hong Kong, June 13 -16, 2011. learn more