11/13/15

New Life for Fowler Beach

Delaware: Better beach for horseshoe crabs: The beach is being rebuilt with coarse sand in an effort to create a better environment for horseshoe crabs to lay their eggs. “Our greatest hope is that next May or early June we have horseshoe crabs using this restored beach,” said Al Rizzo, project leader for the Coastal Delaware National Wildlife Refuge Complex. “The grain size of the sand we are using is not that great for human use, but it’s perfect for the crabs, and that’s what we all about.” download the pdf.

08/21/15

Cuomo Signs Bill to Benefit Horseshoe Crabs

New York:  While one town on Long Island is pushing Albany for a ban on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed two new horseshoe crab protection bills Aug. 13. The new laws extend the DEC’s authority to regulate the horseshoe crab fishery for two years, and also limits the harvest of female horseshoe crabs, mating horseshoe crabs and crabs found at shorebird-feeding beaches. download the pdf.

07/29/15

Waterman Arrested in Delaware for Numerous Fisheries Charges

Delaware: DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers arrested a New Jersey-based, Delaware-licensed commercial waterman July 24 on numerous fisheries-related charges and a felony after he tried to evade a fisheries compliance boarding on Delaware Bay and steered his vessel away and into the path of a police boat, that’s according to Wildlife officials. download the pdf.

07/24/15

The Horseshoe Crab’s Evolutionary Success

The name of the horseshoe crab and the adjectives used to describe it are misnomers. It isn’t a crab, and its helmet-like shape only vaguely resembles a horseshoe. Beachgoers often describe them as primitive, crawling out of the dawn of time. But primitive is a value-laden term implying simplicity instead of complexity, and favoring the latter. download the pdf.

07/12/15

Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program Underway at Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Alabama: Dr. Ruth H. Carmichael, Senior Marine Scientist, DISL and Associate Professor at University of South Alabama, and undergraduate Sean Carter, a rising senior at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, are initiating the study. While the crabs have been studied extensively in other areas of the U.S. and even other areas of the Gulf of Mexico, such as Mexicoand Florida, very little investigation has been done on the topic as it relates to the Alabama coast. download the pdf.

07/11/15

Broadkill Beach Expansion on Track for 2016 Completion

Delaware: A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to expand Broadkill Beach is on schedule — despite having to work around spawning horseshoe crabs this summer. The Army Corps’s contractor has laid down about a quarter of the 1.9 million cubic yards of sand they plan to add to the Sussex County beach. The fill is being dredged from the Delaware River navigational channel. download the pdf. watch video

03/23/15

Concerns Over Red Knots, Horseshoe Crabs, Oysters Spark Debate

New Jersey: The fates of a migratory shorebird, horseshoe crabs, and the state’s oyster industry have converged at the center of a debate over how each should be accommodated where they come together every spring, in New Jersey tidal flats along the Delaware Bay. download the pdf.

01/21/15

Red Knot Protection Could Take Toll on Oyster Industry, Beach Replenishment

New Jersey: A recent decision by the federal government to list a migratory shorebird as a threatened species could have implications beyond the Delaware Bay beaches where the birds come each spring to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The listing could impact things such as beach-replenishment projects and the growing oyster-farming industry along the bay, federal officials say. download the pdf.

11/19/15

Scientists Survey Odisha Shores for Horseshoe Crab

India: Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata, recently surveyed the Odisha coast to submit a status report about the horseshoe crab to the government for its conservation and management. download the pdf.

08/07/15

Horseshoe Crab Population in Sabah Down Sharply

Malaysia: Field researcher Rolando Robert from Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Borneo Marine Research Institute links the imbalance ratio to human- related activities. He says decades of mangrove clearing and extensive beach reclamation in Kota Kinabalu have brought about these losses. download the pdf.

07/30/15

14 Islands in Bhitarkanika National Park Protected

India: Fourteen idyllic islands located within the Bhitarkanika national park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district have been identified for comprehensive conservation under the Central government’s Holistic Development of Coastal Islands Project. download the pdf.

01/06/15

3rd International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

Japan: 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 the fall of 2007, in New York, USA. After which, it was decided to hold these workshops every four years at locations throughout the four horseshoe crab species spawning range. The 2nd workshop was held in Hong Kong, June 13 -16, 2011. The 3rd workshop will be held in Sasebo City, Japan, June 15 -19, 2015. learn more 

12/28/15

Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts 2015

Delaware: This year we received 400 entries from four countries, Hong Kong, India, Japan and the USA. Our judges selected 31 of the most compelling artwork from each grade level that entered.  As always, the task was challenging, for all forms of personal expression are, by their very nature, a honest reflection of the heart within.  Since the programs inception in 1998, the Young Voices that give this program life, has grown from a few hundred, to many thousands around the world. download the pdf.

12/04/15

Lonza Announces Second Global Endotoxin Testing Summit – and Another Opportunity to “Flip” Crabs

Maryland: Lonza will host its next Global Endotoxin Testing Summit on 23-25 May 2016 in Annapolis, MD (USA) and Pickering Beach, DE (USA). Organized by one of the world’s leading suppliers of endotoxin detection products, this second conference will build on the success of the inaugural Global Endotoxin Testing Summit held in June 2015. download the pdf.

09/08/15

Annenberg Space for Photography

California: This exhibition is a photographic interpretation of life on Earth from the Big Bang to the present by acclaimed National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting. LIFE: A Journey Through Time is based on Lanting’s epic, multi-year project and features more than 70 images with texts and stories about the works as well as an innovative timeline of life on our planet. download the pdf.

08/20/15

Two New Sanctuaries to Save Wildlife

New Jersey: The communities of Gandy’s Beach and Money Island, New Jersey became official ERDG horseshoe crab sanctuaries on May 16, 2015. This will help to conserve the largest breeding population of horseshoe crabs in the world, located in Delaware Bay. download the pdf.

08/20/15

2016 Indianapolis Prize Nominees Announced

Indiana: The 2016 Indianapolis Prize has announced its nominees. The $250,000 prize honors heroes in the field of animal conservation, with the goal of sustaining the Earth’s wild places. The list of 28 nominees spans the continents of the world and represents an incredible range of species from the sky to the sea, including snow leopards, orangutans, swans, sea horses, cheetahs and many more. download the pdf.

06/14/15

Conserving and Protecting Horseshoe Crabs

New York: A group of volunteers wanders a stretch of a Long Island beach at 2 a.m. The volunteers wear headlamps and hold flashlights that shine on the dark water. They carry data sheets, a measuring device, a drill and assorted surveying tools. No matter the weather, they hike along the shoreline, sloshing through the crashing waves and wet sand. If they are not careful, the waves pour over the sides of their rain boots, which makes walking difficult. download the pdf.

05/06/15

Downe Township Holds its Second Annual Horseshoe Crab Festival

New Jersey: Downe Township is home to New Jersey’s first community horseshoe crab sanctuary, which is part of ERDG’s Backyard Stewardship™ initiative, started in 1999. The program is designed to encourage coastal communities to declare their shared habitat a horseshoe crab conservation area or sanctuary. To date, there are eight Delaware Bayshore communities who have joined this initiative and on May 16th, at the Downe Township Annual Horseshoe Crab Festival, there will be two more, Gandy’s Beach and Money Island. download the pdf.

03/09/15

CRABBY ART – International Exhibit Celebrating the Horseshoe Crab

Delaware: The Bethel Heritage Museum has opened its most recent traveling exhibit: Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts display. The display comes from the Ecological Research and Development Group (ERDG) which focuses on bringing awareness and protecting the horseshoe crab. download the pdf.

01/06/15

3rd International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

Japan: 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 the fall of 2007, in New York, USA. After which, it was decided to hold these workshops every four years at locations throughout the four horseshoe crab species spawning range. The 2nd workshop was held in Hong Kong, June 13 -16, 2011. The 3rd workshop will be held in Sasebo City, Japan, June 15 -19, 2015. learn more