12/24/09

Dr. Robert B. Barlow Jr. Dies at 70

New York: Dr. Robert B. Barlow Jr. “Bob” 70, of Jamesville, NY, and Woods Hole, MA, passed away December 24, 2009, after a battle with leukemia. Read more »

11/29/09

Delaware River: Dredging Battle Pits Jobs vs. River

Delaware Bay: Nearly 28 years after Congress authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the Delaware River’s main shipping channel, the only thing about the project that has deepened is the controversy. download the pdf.

11/15/09

Repairing Coastline Won’t Be Cheap, But Who Will Pay For It?

Delaware: The monster offspring of Tropical Storm Ida has taken a huge bite out of Delaware’s Atlantic coastline, devouring much of the beaches, gnawing at the protective dunes and creating a huge challenge for the state and resort towns who are unsure if repairs can be done quickly enough for the summer tourist season. download the pdf.

10/12/09

Shorebird Feeding Beach Restored: Corps Adds Replenishment to Mispillion Dredging Job

Delaware: Delaware Bay’s most productive horseshoe crab spawning beach — and also the area with last spring’s highest concentrations of migratory shorebirds — was washing away, inundated by each high tide. download the pdf.

09/30/09

Waterman Fined for Taking Horseshoe Crabs, Oysters

Delaware: A Leipsic-area waterman pleaded guilty today to violations of his commercial fishing license, state officials reported. download the pdf.

09/17/09

Protection for Horseshoe Crabs Scaled Back

Connecticut: Amid dueling science and clashing factions in a local environmental organization, the Town Council voted Monday to wash back greater protection for horseshoe crabs. Download pdf.

08/20/09

Five Inducted into Delaware Maritime Hall of Fame

Delaware: In this, its third year, the hall will honor a commercial waterman, a pioneer in the recreational charter boat fishing industry, a maritime industry entrepreneur, bay and river pilot, and a longshoreman leader. The event will be at 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Lewes Yacht Club  Download the pdf.

08/19/09

Horseshoe Crab Board Extends Addendum V Provisions to Fall 2010

Virginia: The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved extending the provisions of Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab for an additional year as it awaits the results of the upcoming peer-reviewed stock assessment. Download the pdf.

08/08/09

Failing Seawall Threatens ‘A Way Of Life’

New Jersey: The sun will always set here, melting into the Delaware Bay each night, just as it did long before the area had a name or roads to get here. But the summer residents of this tiny hamlet in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, some of whom met their spouses here and live in homes that have passed through generations, fear that their sunsets are numbered. download the pdf.

08/05/09

Scary Ancient ‘Spiders’ Revealed In 3D Models, With New Imaging Technique

London: Early relatives of spiders that lived around 300 million years ago are revealed in new three-dimensional models, in research published August 5 in the journal Biology Letters. download pdf.

07/29/09

Fishermen Accused of Illegally Harvesting Horseshoe Crabs

New York: Two Suffolk commercial fishermen face criminal charges after they were caught with hundreds of illegally harvested horseshoe crabs – 347 more than their permit allowed, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Tuesday. download the pdf.

07/29/09

DNREC Denies Permit to Deepen Delaware River and Bay

Delaware Bay: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin P. O’Mara recently signed an order denying the permit application from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the main navigational channel of the Delaware River and Bay from 40 to 45 feet. download the pdf.

07/24/09

Horseshoe Crab Researchers Weigh In

Massachusetts: In response to Jamie Balliett’s article (Pondering Ancient Creatures, July 10) and Jamie Roberts’ response (Will studies save the horseshoe crab? July 17), we want to be clear on the comments we made and a few points regarding the crab harvest. download the pdf.

07/09/09

UMass Dartmouth to Study Emerging Whelk Fishery

Massachusetts: UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology Professor Bradley Stevens has been awarded $220,000 in Saltonstall-Kennedy funding for a two-year study to improve the conservation of the New England whelk, a large, edible sea snail, locally known as a “conch.” Download the pdf.

06/19/09

Mystery of the Missing Horseshoe Crabs

Massachusetts: By the miracle of instinct and enormous exertion, a little bird, the red knot, migrates from the Canadian low arctic to the tip of South America and back each year. download the pdf.

06/17/09

Horseshoe Crabs Counted Along Greenwich Shoreline

Connecticut: A long-term study is being conducted on a “primitive” crab that existed tens of millions of years before the first dinosaurs roamed the earth, and yet plays a vitally important role in medical research. download the pdf.

06/11/09

Locals Help Tag the Horseshoe Crab

Connecticut: Take a stroll with Stamford resident Hilary Starks through Southfield Beach this spring, and you’re likely to see dozens of horseshoe crabs mating as the tides come in. download the pdf.

06/09/09

Giant Crab One Of Top Five U.S. Roadside Attractions

Ohio: The world’s largest horseshoe crab — which is located in Blanchester — has been named one of the top five roadside attractions by the publisher of RoadsideAmerica.com. download the pdf.

06/06/09

Red knots Dine Well on Delaware Beaches

Delaware: Biologists still must analyze data on this spring’s shorebird migration through Delaware Bay and the horseshoe crab spawning season, but early indications are that it was a good season for the birds and the crabs. Download the pdf.

05/28/09

Delaware Bay, Where Horseshoe Crabs Come to Spawn

Delaware: Quiet and sheltered beaches make the area the busiest breeding ground in the world. Download the pdf.

05/27/09

South Jersey Shorebirds Show Signs of Improvement

New Jersey: At less than a quarter-pound, each sanderling could easily fit in a coffee cup. But for these shorebirds, it’s good to be overweight; their May feast on Delaware Bay gave them enough fuel for the last leg of their annual, hemispheric flight. download the pdf.

05/07/09

‘Star Trek’ Tricorder Scans for Life on Space Station

Space: Astronauts on the space station have their own version of the “Star Trek” tricorder to search for signs of life, whether that life is from Earth or of extraterrestrial origin – at least if it’s life as we know it. The real device appears to be similar in size and basic purpose to the one in the new movie, which opens Friday in the United States. Download the pdf.

04/22/09

Trustees Pledge Vigilance Against Horseshoe Crab Poachers

New York: The Southampton Town Trustees are planning to step up bay constable patrols in eastern Moriches Bay and western Shinnecock Bay as the horseshoe crab spawning season approaches in an effort to stop out-of-town commercial fishermen from taking the crabs from town waters. download the pdf.

04/16/09

Horseshoe Crabs Spawn in State’s Inland

Delaware: Horseshoe crabs famously lay millions of eggs along the beaches of the Delaware Bay each spring. Scientists are discovering they just as frequently spawn along sandy shores in the Inland Bays. Download the pdf.

04/08/09

Army Corps Issues Study on River-dredging Effects

Delaware River: An updated environmental assessment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that the proposed dredging of the Delaware River shipping channel “would have no significant, adverse effects on the human environment” over and above the potential environmental effects already addressed in the earlier environmental impact statements. Download the pdf.

04/04/09

New Clues Could Save Shorebirds Overharvesting of Crabs Robs Red Knots of Food

Delaware Bay: Shorebirds such as the red knot will depend on an abundant supply of horseshoe crab eggs when they arrive here next month on their northern migration. Just how many eggs has always been a question. download the pdf.

03/15/09

Scientists Track Horseshoe Crab Mating

Florida: Warning: This is a story about horseshoe crab mating, but it will zealously avoid such hackneyed attempts at humor as references to sex on the beach or romance under the full moon. Download the pdf.

03/12/09

Biologists Seek Public’s Help For Horseshoe Crab Research

Florida: Biologists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute need help from the public in identifying horseshoe crabs spawning on beaches throughout the state. Download the pdf.

02/03/09

Youth Horseshoe Crab Advocate Places in Top 5 of National Contest

Maryland: Alex Zerphy, age 11, recognized a need for a horseshoe crab awareness campaign regarding the global impact of this creature.  He created Planet Horseshoe Crab after his discovery of horseshoe crab eggs at his community’s beach in May of 2007. Download the pdf.

01/15/09

Lonza Bioscience to Add $26M Building, 80 New Hires in Walkersville

Maryland: Lonza Bioscience in Walkersville will be expanding with a $26 million new building and 80 new associates. Download the pdf.

01/08/09

Julius Schainbaum Dies at 81

Pennsylvainia: Julius Schainbaum, 81, of Warminster, a pharmaceutical researcher for Smith Kline & French (now GlaxoSmithKline) who had such compassion for living creatures that he had difficulty killing horseshoe crabs for lab experiments, died Friday at Abington Memorial Hospital of complications of pneumonia. Download the pdf.

12/16/09

Endangered Crab Falls Prey To Poachers For Medicine Testing

India: Bacteria causing typhoid or meningitis may at times creep into the medicines we use, especially when they are manufactured in unhygienic conditions. The only way to detect them in medicines is to run a check with a particular type of protein Carcinoscorpius Amoebocyte Lysate (CAL) found in the blood cells of horseshoe crabs, found in the Sunderbans. This blue-blood king crab is on the verge of extinction.  download the pdf.

10/22/09

Singapore Conserving Biodiversity Well

Singapore: Singapore is taking a unique approach to conserving its biodiversity and is doing well, an expert said yesterday. download the pdf.

09/21/09

Man Drowns While Looking For Crabs

Malaysia: A man looking for “belangkas” (horseshoe crabs) along the Tanjung Lumpur coast here on Monday drowned after he was apparently dragged into the sea by strong undercurrents. Read more »

07/31/09

Kinmen to Use Horseshoe Crab Breeding Season to Educate Residents

Taiwan: The Kinmen County government will begin to send experts to horseshoe crab breeding grounds on Sunday to give lectures on the “living fossil” and ways to protect the species. download the pdf.

06/07/09

カブトガニ幼生500匹放流

Japan: カブトガニの生息地として知られる山口県平生町の平生湾で６日、幼生約500匹の放流会があった。保護と増殖に取り組む町が主催。地元の親子連れ約50人が「大きくなあれ」と海に放った。Download the pdf.

04/21/09

With Nowhere to Go

India: A deep-sea port at Dhamra, Orissa, being built by the Dhamra Port Company Limited in a joint venture with Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro poses a threat to Olive Ridley sea turtles and horseshoe crabs. Download the pdf.

03/16/09

Pollution, Greedy Fishermen a Threat to Horseshoe Crab

Malaysia: Once considered useless, the humble “belangkas” is thrust into the limelight as more people discover the beneficial properties of its blood. But the attention is not always welcomed because with it, comes unsustainable demand and irresponsible fishing. Download the pdf.

03/16/09

Horseshoe Crab: ‘Princely’ Dish a Hit at Eatery

Malaysia: Business at Belangkas Mahkota in Kota Tinggi is brisk as it offers a meal of belangkas (horseshoe crab)cooked in curry, which is a favourite among its patrons. The eatery is operated by Abdul Hamid Musa, 68,his wife, Mariam Arif, 58, and their three sons. Download the pdf.

03/16/09

Horseshoe Crab: Definitely a Cracking Good Crab

Malaysia: Mysterious and unappreciated, horseshoe crabs are slowly revealing their secrets to a team of local scientists. EVANGELINE MAJAWAT discovers that their findings could just be the ‘eureka’ moment the nation has been holding her breath for WITH its primitive armour-like shell and spiny tail, this misunderstood marine creature strikes fear in the hearts of many. Download the pdf.

11/23/09

Scientists Say Dredging Could Hurt Fish, Crabs

Delaware Bay: Environmentalists say a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to deepen the Delaware River channel will hurt horseshoe crabs, but the corps says part of the project will enhance a crab spawning ground. Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group Inc., said it would be impossible to alter deeper areas of the bay, where horseshoe crabs spend most of their time, without affecting them. download the pdf.

10/08/09

Primehook Beach Residents Protect Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: Residents of Primehook Beach want their beaches to remain a safe haven for horseshoe crabs.  They’ve teamed up with an ecological research group and declared the beaches a sanctuary for the ancient creatures that return to the Delaware Bay each year to spawn. Read more »

08/31/09

Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

Global: Written for Conservation biologists, ornithologists, ecologists and medical professionals, the Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs, offers proceedings from a ground-breaking 2007 international symposium at Dowling College on the science and conservation of the horseshoe crab. Read more »

08/03/09

Horseshoe Crab Exhibit at Nature Center

New Jersey: Now through Labor Day, depictions of the horseshoe crab by children from all around the globe are on display in the Charlotte Van Leer Todd Environmental Education Hall at the Nature Center, on the shores of Cape May Harbor, at 1600 Delaware Ave. Download the pdf.

07/13/09

Backyard Stewardship™ Coastal Communities Define Their Shared Habitat as a Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary

Delaware Bay: The future survival of the world’s four horseshoe crab species will ultimately depend on the preservation of spawning habitat; a challenging prospect in light of the ever-increasing human density along the same beaches horseshoe crabs rely on for propagation. Download the pdf.

06/02/09

Horseshoe Crabs Gain Respect

New Jersey: On the Friday eve of Memorial Day weekend, Route 35 and Belmar Boulevard vibrated under the young crowd that drove in to get their party groove going at bars and house parties. A few yards away in the Shark River shallows, horseshoe crabs were already into Round Two of their mating season. Download the pdf.

05/24/09

Horseshoe Crabs Grab the Spotlight

Delaware: Milton horseshoe crab festival also celebrates shorebirds. Download the pdf.

04/11/09

Community Divided Over Crab Sanctuary Proposal

New Jersey: Opinions are divided over a proposal to establish a horseshoe crab sanctuary along Cumberland County’s Delaware Bay shoreline at Fortescue. download the pdf.

03/24/09

Could a Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary be a Draw for Ecotourists in Downe Township?

New Jersey: Michael Oates suggested that possibility to the Downe Township Committee at its March meeting, but the committee and some residents had reservations. A vote of support was postponed for more resident input. download the pdf.

02/02/09

Community Building: An Integrated Approach to Horseshoe Crab Conservation

Delaware: From its inception in 1995, the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) has recognized the importance of building an engaged community to achieve wildlife conservation. This paper describes the tools and strategies ERDG has developed to promote the conservation of the world’s four horseshoe crab species at a community level. Download the pdf.

01/11/09

The Survival of the World’s Four Horseshoe Crab Species Requires a Global Perspective

New Jersey: ERDG presents a vision for the future of horseshoe crab conservation at the third “Delaware Estuary Science and Environmental Summit” held this week in Cape May, New Jersey. The purpose of this biennial summit is to provide a venue for exchange at which 200 or more scientists, resource managers, and environmentalists can share their work in the context of the event’s theme: “Planning for Tomorrow’s Delaware Estuary.” Download the pdf.