News Archives

Posts Tagged ‘animal-free bacterial endotoxin testing’

Horseshoe Crabs in the Americas

06/21/23

International Horseshoe Crab Day: Against All Odds

Global: In June 2019, during the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group international workshop in Guangxi, China, participants from 14 countries and regions endorsed the Beibu Gulf Declaration on Global Horseshoe Crab Conservation, to call for strengthening of policy making and better enforcement, more scientific investigations and research, sustainable management of horseshoe crabs, restoring natural populations and protecting their critical habitats, and promoting public and multi-party participation in horseshoe crab conservation. In further extending their public outreach activities around the world, the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group have designated 20th June every year as the International Horseshoe Crab Day to showcase the collective conservation efforts for the four horseshoe crab species. Since the first International Horseshoe Crab Day in 2020, more than 60 conservation educational activities, including symposia, webinars, public talks, film and video shows, exhibitions, workshops and eco-tours were organized across the geographical range of horseshoe crabs. Information on such activities will be posted on a webpage of the Beibu Gulf University, China (https://lbgmbc.bbgu.edu.cn/gjhbyr.htm). Against All Odds 2023 Booklet

04/26/22

Despite Mortality Concerns, Horseshoe Crab Blood Facility Gets Permit

Massachusetts: Despite concerns raised about the potential “decimation” of the horseshoe crab population, the planning board unanimously approved a special permit for Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. to establish a facility to extract blood from the ancient arthropods for biomedical uses.
The Wilmington-based company was before the board on April 12 seeking a land use special permit to conduct scientific research and development from a leased building at 195 Queen Anne Rd. in the town’s industrial zoning district. download the pdf.

01/20/22

Charles River Labs & the South Carolina Horseshoe Crab Harvest

South Carolina: Blue blood from horseshoe crabs has helped make vaccines safe for years, but experts say the multinational company harvesting the crabs in South Carolina is misleading the public about its environmental impact and the synthetic alternatives that exist. download the pdf.

11/13/21

Associates of Cape Cod Inc. Announces the Release of its One Millionth Horseshoe Crab From its Species Sustainability Project

Massachusetts: ACC proudly announces that it has achieved the release of its millionth juvenile horseshoe crab to the wild, as a result of its species sustainability project. The program is the first of its kind to release ecologically significant numbers of North American Horseshoe Crabs (NAHSC); it was initiated by the company in 2017 in the US and expanded into Asia in 2019, with a goal of enhancing the sustainability of crab populations that are so vital to local ecosystems as well as to the manufacture of Bacterial Endotoxin Test (BET) reagents that utilize a raw material found in crab blood. ACC’s reagents are used worldwide in pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology, compounding pharmacy and dialysis industries for quality control, product release and research.

05/25/21

Judge Bans Horseshoe Crab Harvesting Near Charleston SC

South Carolina: A federal judge has prohibited the harvest of horseshoe crabs in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge near Charleston. The new order was expected to restrict the operations of a Massachusetts-based biomedical company, Charles River Laboratories, that for almost 30 years has purchased tens of thousands of the animals from fishermen who collect them on the refuge and other spots along the S.C. coast. download the pdf.

02/12/21

Why Does SC Lab Bleed Horseshoe Crabs for Vaccine Testing?

South Carolina: Charles River, the only company permitted to purchase the animals in South Carolina, is after their blood. Copper-based and colored light blue, the fluid that runs through their hard bodies is exceptionally good at detecting a bacterial toxin that can cause organ failure or death in humans. For almost 30 years in a facility in Charleston, Charles River has bled the horseshoe crabs, then sold a test for contaminants using the blue blood called LAL, named after the species that lives along the Atlantic, Limulus polyphemus. download the pdf.

11/29/18

Lonza’s Global Subject Matter Expert for Endotoxin Detection Appointed Chair of ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel

Maryland: Lonza announced the appointment of Allen Burgenson, Global Subject Matter Expert for Endotoxin Detection at Lonza, as Chair of the Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Burgenson was elected by his peers to this esteemed position on 26 September 2018 in recognition of more than 35 years of experience in the biomedical use of horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

10/02/18

Horseshoe Crab Spawning Activity After Beach Nourishment

New York: Beach nourishment is a common shoreline protection method where sediment that has been eroded is replaced, typically using sediment dredged from offshore. To test its efficacy, a team of researchers led by Dr. Mark Botton from Fordham University investigated how beach nourishment projects affect horseshoe crab spawning. The study was conducted at Plumb Beach near the mouth of Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn, New York. This site provided a good study location because it has a history of beach nourishment projects. download the pdf.

07/10/18

Bird Flu Hot Spot: Scientists Track Virus in Huge Migration

New Jersey: Huge flocks of famished birds scour the sands of Delaware Bay for the tiny greenish eggs an army of horseshoe crabs lays every spring. It’s a marvel of ecology as shorebirds migrating from South America to the Arctic time a stop critical to their survival to this mass crab spawning. It’s also one of the world’s hot spots for bird flu a bonanza for scientists seeking clues about how influenza evolves so they just might better protect people. download the pdf.

07/03/18

Call for Papers

New York: A new volume of research and considerations in the global efforts to conserve and protect globally the four species of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, LLC, has approved this book for the inclusion of papers, presentations, workshops and other relevant Horseshoe Crab manuscripts and PowerPoints that may not have been formally published after the conferences held in Sasebo, Japan, Bangkok, Thailand and the Providence, RI CERF Conference. download the pdf.

 

 

06/30/18

Humans Monitor Falling Horseshoe Crab Numbers

Connecticut: In the dark of the new moon, people gathered at Calf Pasture Beach. They were equipped with headlamps, waders, buckets and bug spray, and they were there to solve a mystery: Whatʼs happening to Long Island Soundʼs horseshoe crabs? download the pdf.

05/17/18

DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center to host Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival on May 19, 2018

Delaware: The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife facility, will host its ninth annual Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival, celebrating the spring arrival of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the center, located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, east of Milford, DE 19963, near Slaughter Beach. Admission is free. The festival will be held rain or shine, except in the case of severe weather or flooding. download the pdf.

05/17/18

Scientists Want Us To Keep Watch for Horseshoe Crabs on Florida’s West Coast

Florida: The shortage of Florida-specific data for trends analysis is why the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission is leading horseshoe crab nesting surveys. download the pdf.

01/25/18

People Pay $112 Million A Year For Horseshoe Crab Blood. A Company Wants Georgia’s Coast In On It.

Georgia: A biotech company is eyeing Jekyll Island as a testing ground for its foray into horseshoe crab ranching. download the pdf.

10/26/17

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Board Sets 2018 Specifications for Horseshoe Crabs of Delaware Bay Origin

Virginia: The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2018 season. download the pdf.

10/26/17

Petition UNESCO Support in Creating a Global Sanctuary for the Horseshoe Crab

New York: We the undersigned petition #UNESCO to support the creation of a global sanctuary for these unique and venerable creatures by establishing the first designation of “World Heritage Species” for this invertebrate. download the pdf.

10/15/17

Wantagh Students Become Horseshoe Crab Farmers

New York: Inside a fish tank at Mandalay Elementary School are 500 tiny horseshoe crab eggs that are being observed and researched by Horizon’s program students. download the pdf.

10/15/17

New Mascot in Town at Rhodes

Rhode Island: On Thursday morning the school community at Rhodes Elementary School gathered together for a very special event, one that was the result of several years of effort, much hard work by last year’s fourth grade classes and a schoolwide landslide vote last spring. The school mascot was officially changed on Thursday morning from a tiger to a horseshoe crab, marking a new era for Rhodes, a community which is within walking distance to Narragansett Bay, where horseshoe crabs can often be found. download the pdf.

07/20/17

How Horseshoe Crabs Are Saving Us from Healthcare-Associated Infections

Global: There are some newer tests that may replace at least the bacteria-detecting role of LAL and TAL, which are not made from horseshoe crab blood. One is recombinant factor C — synthetic version of Factor C, a clotting factor in horseshoe crab blood, from cloned DNA. Another uses human blood. It’s called the monocyte activation test (MAT), also known as the in-vitro pyrogen test, and it may eventually detect non-endotoxin bacteria that horseshoe crab blood can’t reveal. Scientists continue to develop those methods so they can be more reliable and widely used, while also searching for other alternatives. download the pdf.

06/22/17

Delaware’s 2017 Horseshoe Crab Commercial Fishery to Close June 22

Delaware: DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today that Delaware’s 2017 commercial harvest quota of 162,136 male horseshoe crabs has been met, and that the horseshoe crab fishery will close at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, June 22 in accordance with Delaware law and regulations. The fishery will remain closed the rest of the year. download the pdf.

05/15/17

Horseshoe Crab Ban Okayed for Stratford

Connecticut: The House on Wednesday morning unanimously approved a ban on the harvesting or killing of horseshoe crabs along a section of the Stratford shoreline where the primitive shellfish spawn. download the pdf.

05/13/17

Horseshoe Crab Prevails as Rhodes Mascot

Rhode Island: For months, the fourth grade students at E.S. Rhodes Elementary School in Susan Weber’s and Stephanie Pearson’s classes have been working hard researching, educating and lobbying their school community for a change in the traditional school mascot, the tiger, for a more meaningful mascot, the horseshoe crab. download the pdf.

03/14/17

Florida Fish and Wildlife: Be a Citizen-Scientist This Horseshoe Crab Spawning Season

Florida: Spring is approaching and that means it is peak mating season for horseshoe crabs. Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are asking the public to report horseshoe crab sightings. download the pdf.

03/02/17

Horseshoe Crabs Need Catch Limits Maintained

Massachusetts: This letter was sent to David Pierce, director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. On behalf of Mass Audubon, I submit the following comments on the proposed amendments to regulations governing the catch of horseshoe crabs. This proposed amendment would: a. Increase the horseshoe crab mobile gear trip limits from 300 crabs to 600 crabs effective no later than July 1; and b. Exempt mobile gear fishermen from all or some of the springtime lunar closures. download the pdf.

02/13/17

Call for Abstracts CERF 2017

Rhode Island: The IUCN Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group invites abstracts for a Special Session entitled, “Linking Species and Habitat Conservation for Global Horseshoe Crab Populations,” which has been accepted into the program of the 2017 Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) Meeting. The conference will be held at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island (USA) from November 5-9, 2017. The deadline for abstract submission is 1 May 2017, and the deadline for early registration is 15 May 2017. Information about the meeting, as well as travel and hotel information is available at the conference website. download the pdf.

02/12/17

Legislators Propose Bill to Ban Harvest of Stratford Horseshoe Crabs

Connecticut: A pair of state legislators want to ban fishermen from harvesting horseshoe crab along the town’s shoreline to protect a species some believe is struggling in Long Island Sound. download the pdf.

02/11/17

Vineyard Fishermen Warn of Ruin If Conch Rule Enacted

Massachusetts: Vineyarders had no problem with the state clarifying the striped bass rule, but objected to another proposal that, starting June 10, would double the trip limit for horseshoe crabs, from 300 to 600, and eliminate the five-day lunar spawning closures. “If we go to 600 crabs, they’re going to give us a buck apiece for them,” Mr. Krzyzewski said, referring to horseshoe crab buyers from the biomedical industry and those who use the crabs as bait. download the pdf.

12/27/16

State of Rhode Island Tightens Horseshoe Crab Harvest Regulations

Rhode Island: Rhode Island’s horseshoe crab population is not plummeting, it is not increasing, either, so the state is trying to manage the stock to ensure its long term survival, while considering the needs of commercial harvesters. Following a Dec. 5 hearing that included submissions from the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council, scientists, commercial harvesters and Save the Bay, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is expected to approve new amendments to regulations governing the horseshoe crab harvest. The changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017. download the pdf.

12/23/16

American Horseshoe Crab is Vulnerable to Extinction

USA: The IUCN Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group recently determined that based on Red List criteria the American horseshoe crab is Vulnerable to extinction, which is an elevated level of risk compared to the previous Red List assessment completed in 1996.  The scientific assessment which provided the basis for the Red List assessment has been peer-reviewed and published in Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. The citation is: Smith, D. R., H. J. Brockmann, M. Beekey, T. L. King, M. J. Millard, and J. Zaldívar Rae. 2016. Status assessment of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries doi:10.1007/s11160-016-9461-y., and is available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-016-9461-y/fulltext.html , ERDG’s “Research” and “News” sections download the pdf.

12/12/16

Unlocking the Mysteries to Early Life on Earth

Canada: Before North America was a continent — before animals, before plants and trees, before land plates shifted — the area that is now the Grand Rapids Uplands in Manitoba was located near the equator. The Earth’s temperature was higher. There was less oxygen. Volcanos stewed. The world was different. Download the pdf.

12/12/16

Creating a ‘Living Shoreline’ with Reef Balls

Connecticut: Meandering rows of the thousand-pound dome-shaped cement balls create an artificial reef. Each ball is punctuated with holes that allow the tide and small sea creatures through. Over the past couple years the reef, planted just off shore, has begun to not only stop erosion but reverse it. download the pdf.

10/27/16

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Management Board Sets 2017 Harvest Quotas for the Delaware Bay Region

Delaware Bay: The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2017 season. download the pdf.

09/24/16

Project to Restore Horseshoe Crab Spawning Beach at Mispillion Harbor

Delaware: Mispillion Harbor has been fragile since a fast-moving winter storm in January 1992 caused significant damage and erosion. Several major storms since then, including a Mother’s Day weekend nor’easter in 2008, Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, caused more sand loss and damage. download the pdf.

08/02/16

Scientists Seek Ways for Oyster Farms, Red knots to Co-exist on Delaware Bay

New Jersey: Joe Moro sold his restaurant in West Chester, Pennsylvania, several years ago and retired to North Cape May and the life of a Delaware Bay oyster farmer. Now he spends five days a week doing manual labor on the mud flats of the bay at low tide, growing oysters known as Cape May Salts. download the pdf.

08/02/16

Horseshoe Crab Harvest, Threatened Red knot at Odds

South Carolina: The blue blood crab versus the bird that “flies to the moon.” That’s a fight state and federal regulators don’t want to referee. But the latest conservationist move to force a critical habitat designation for the threatened red knot has them worried. download the pdf.

05/13/16

Rare Horseshoe Crab Fossil Named in Honor of Nova Scotia Woman

Canada: In the scientific paper, detailing the work of Mansky and two scientists from the New Mexico Museum of Natural
History and Science, an extremely rare horseshoe crab fossil from Nova Scotia is described as a new species. download the pdf.

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.

10/30/14

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Board Sets 2015 Specifications for Horseshoe Crabs of Delaware Bay Origin

Delaware Bay: The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board has approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board maintained a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2015 season. download the pdf.

06/19/14

Commercial Crabber Fined for Failure to Report Harvest

Delaware: DNREC Natural Resources Police, Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement agents cited commercial fisherman Travis J. Mick, 31, of Milford, for failure to report horseshoe crab landings within a 24-hour limit as required by state regulations. download the pdf.

06/18/14

Horseshoe Crab Limit Reached, Fishery to Close

Delaware: Wildlife officials say Delaware’s harvest limit of horseshoe crabs for 2014 has been reached, and the fishery will close. download the pdf.

06/16/14

Delaware Gets Millions to Help Beaches, Wetlands

Delaware: Three wetlands, Bombay Hook, Mispillion Harbor and the marshes near Little Creek, will be part of a $102.7 million federal initiative to build storm and sea-level-rise resilience by using green infrastructure – such as beaches and wetlands – to minimize the impact of flooding, coastal destruction and storm surge. download the pdf.

06/16/14

Federal Grant Will Help Turn an Old Broad Channel Marina into a Sunset Cove

New York: Sunset Cove will be among 54 sites along the Atlantic Coast to receive a cut of $102.7 million in federal matching grants to help battle future storms, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said Monday in Broad Channel. Once littered with trash and broken boats, the former dumping ground will be transformed into a natural preserve with one of the best sunset views in the city. download the pdf.

06/15/14

Community Stewardship Gives Legs to Crab Program

New Jersey: Twice in the past two weeks, the residents of Downe Township have proudly demonstrated their community’s commitment to protecting the local ecosystem and the horseshoe crab/shorebird phenomenon that occurs annually each spring. download the pdf.

06/13/14

Teachers Learn 10 Key Things About Horseshoe Crabs at Audubon Workshop

Connecticut: Milford teachers who attended a workshop given by Project Limulus June 13 at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center learned 10 things about horseshoe crabs right off the bat. Then, for the next 36 hours, they discovered things they may never have dreamed of about these fascinating creatures. download the pdf.

06/12/14

Monitoring the Night of the Horseshoe Crabs

New York: Cornell Cooperative Extension scientists help run the New York Horseshoe Crab Monitoring Network, which collects data on the number, size and gender of horseshoe crabs that come up on the beach at 16 sites throughout Long Island early each summer. They rely on citizen volunteers of all ages to help them tag and measure the horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

06/01/14

Horseshoe Crabs: Moonlight Dalliances, but Dwindling Numbers

Rhode Island: Even though darkness is falling and ominous clouds are gathering in the northeast, Scott Olszewski pulls on his waterproof boots and sets out down the deserted beach at Napatree Point. With all else aligning nicely, he just needs the storm to hold off and the winds to cooperate to witness a primitive spectacle — a veritable orgy on the beach. download the pdf.

05/25/14

Horseshoe Crab Spawning Season a Boon for Shorebirds

South Carolina: Tagging horseshoe crabs on Harbor Island. More than 30 volunteers participated in a S.C. Department of Natural Resources program, conducted by DNR veterinarian Al Segars, to tag horseshoe crabs as they came ashore on Harbor Island to mate May 25, 2013. download the pdf.

05/20/14

Primeval Species Crowds Delaware Bay Beaches

New Jersey:  About 100 people gathered on the shore of Kimbles Beach in Middle Township on Thursday, May 15, and Heidi Hanlon had to raise her voice to be heard over children’s squeals and the low conversations of adults. “Who wants to go and pick up one of the male horseshoe crabs for tagging?” asked Hanlon, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge. download the pdf.

05/08/14

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Completes $1.65 Million Beach Restoration Project on New Jersey’s Delaware Bay

New Jersey: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed the first of 31 Hurricane Sandy coastal resilience projects focusing on rebuilding natural areas along the Atlantic Coast. The $1.65 million beach restoration project restored five beaches on Cape May’s inner shoreline, including Kimbles Beach, Reeds Beach, Moores Beach, Cooks Beach and Pierces Point. download the pdf.

05/07/14

Costly Bids Under Review for Dredging Project

Delaware: A contract solicitation for the southern most stretch in July failed to attract bidders, prompting surprised officials to rework timetables and work requirements to give more time and flexibility on the water. The concessions included waiving horseshoe crab spawning work restrictions during 2015. download the pdf.

04/18/14

DEC Weighs Limits on Whelk Harvest

New York: The rules also would prohibit the importation, sale and use of Asian horseshoe crabs. The whelk reporting and Asian horseshoe crab rules are expected to take effect this summer. download the pdf.

02/06/14

Horseshoe Crab Management Board Meeting Summary

Virginia: The Horseshoe Crab Management Board met to review a North Carolina transfer request, receive an update on the New England and New York stock status trends, and discuss confidentiality and mortality issues in the biomedical sector. download the pdf.

12/22/13

New Refit Plan for Broadkill Beach

Delaware: State regulators have loosened some environmental restrictions for a federal widening of vulnerable Broadkill Beach, after a more-traditional Army Corps of Engineers contract offer failed to attract any bidders earlier this year. download the pdf.

11/16/13

Prime Hook: Plan Will Rebuild Saltwater System

Delaware: U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials have decided the best course of action to rebuild the decimated marshes is to return the refuge to what it once was. During a standing-room only public workshop Nov. 13 at the Milford library, officials presented for the first time the science behind the plan to restore the refuge. By Ron MacArthur | Nov 15, 2013| Cape Gazette. download the pdf.

09/19/13

Prohibition on Possession or use of Asian Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: The purpose of this action seeks to define and prevent the possession and use of Asian horseshoe crabs to protect human health and the shellfish resources of the State of Delaware. download the pdf.

07/12/13

ECOs Arrests Lead To Felony Charges Against Horseshoe Crabbers

New York: Three Patchogue men are facing criminal charges after a nighttime surveillance effort by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) found these individuals had illegally harvested nearly 1,500 horseshoe crabs in the course of one night. download the pdf.

05/31/13

It’s Dark, but We See You: Release the Horseshoe Crabs

New York: The poachers have become a problem in New York in recent years, said Marin Hawk, who deals with the management of horseshoe crabs at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Since New Jersey instated a moratorium on taking the animals in 2008, she said, demand has increased in other states where they can be taken, but only inside of strict quotas and with proper licenses. Such licenses were not found on the men in Jamaica Bay, the authorities said. download the pdf.

05/29/13

Researchers Declare Success in 15-Year Quest for Artificial Bait

Delaware: For more than 15 years, University of Delaware researcher Nancy Targett has been on an odd and elusive quest to identify just what it is in the scent of a horseshoe crab that makes it such an alluring bait. download the pdf.

10/25/12

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Board Sets Annual Specifications in Adaptive Multi-Species Management

Delaware Region: The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board has approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2013 season. download the pdf.

09/12/12

Coastal Studies to Shore up Action

Delaware: Residents in Delaware Bay communities from Broadkill Beach north to Kitts Hummock are about to find out what the long-term plans are to save their part of the coastline from sea-level rise.  download the pdf.

09/11/12

New Fossil Discovery Offers Clues to Evolutionary Change of Horseshoe Crab Legs

Britain: A new fossil discovery in Britain captures a previously unseen stage in the evolution of these ancient arthropods—the transformation of two-branched legs into nearly identical but separately attached limbs, one of which was destined to disappear. download the pdf.

09/04/12

Stunning Discovery: World’s Longest Fossilized ‘Death Track’

Germany: According to an international team of paleontologists, a 9.7-meter-long mortichnia of a horseshoe crab unearthed at a famous fossil locality in Germany is the longest complete fossilized death track ever found. download the pdf.

09/01/12

Horseshoe Crab Artificial Reef Sculpture Shatters During Installation at Jersey Shore

New Jersey: The barge landed on top of the sunken sculpture, further shattering it, according to a report in Ocean City Patch, an online news site. download the pdf.

07/22/12

Massive Horseshoe Crab Sculpture to Become Artificial Reef

New Jersey: The precious cargo perched atop a 50-foot-longbarge isn’t a shiny white yacht or cabin cruiser — it’s a 48-foot-long, 25,000-pound concrete horseshoe crab. The sculpture dwarfs the vessels, lurking like some sea monster in a Japanese horror film. And the fact that it’s made out of concrete and is completely unseaworthy, is precisely what makes it so precious. download the pdf.

06/08/12

Horseshoe Crab and Whelk Processors & Dealers Contribute $10,000 to Horseshoe Crab Trawl Survey

Virginia: Members of the horseshoe crab and whelk industry from the Chesapeake Bay Packing, LLC and Bernie’s Conchs, LLC, have collectively pledged $10,000 to support the Horseshoe Crab Trawl Survey for 2012. download the pdf.

03/28/12

Medical Testing Firm Plans to Increase Business Here

Virginia: A company whose product is used to test pharmaceuticals will be expanding with the recent purchase of the building it is renting here — the former Port of Cape Charles Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park structure. download the pdf.

03/23/12

A Shorebird, a Crab and a Call to Action

Delaware Bay: The red knot has begun its 9,300-mile migration from its wintering areas in thePatagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of Argentina to its mating grounds in the Canadian Arctic. Like clockwork, the shorebird makes a crucial two-week stop each May in Delaware Bay; it is estimated that nearly 90 percent of the entire red knot population of can be found there on a single May day.The bird’s annual arrival coincides with horseshoe crab spawning. Crab eggs are essential to the redknot, which consumes enough to double its body weight and gain the strength to complete the nonstop last leg of the journey north. download the pdf.

02/13/12

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Board Approves Addendum VII

Virginia: The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Boad has approved Addendum VII to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan. The Addendum implements the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, which incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized horseshoe crab harvest levels for the Delaware Bay area. download the pdf.

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.

12/26/10

Pterygotid Sea Scorpions Not High Level Predator

New Jersey: Research by scientists from New York and New Jersey universities has seriously questioned the long held belief that the pterygotid eurypterids (“sea scorpions”) were high-level predators in the Paleozoic oceans 470 to 370 million years ago. download the pdf.

12/17/10

Giant Horseshoe Crabs Invade Naples Beach

Florida: It’s a rare and delightful sight to see horseshoe crabs on a Naples beach, but imagine seeing them 10 times their size. That was the scene one recent afternoon as local artist Ed Koehler unveiled his latest larger-than-life sea creature sculptures. download the pdf.

11/24/10

Howard County Students Raise Horseshoe Crabs in Science Class

Maryland: Lunch and recess can be regarded by elementary school students as times free from classroom instruction, but not for 15 fifth-graders at Pointers Run Elementary School, in Clarksville. The students, along with teachers Eric Jayne and Chris Brown, use the time to raise horseshoe crabs, testing the water in three tanks and feeding the eight 1-year-old crabs and several dozen recently hatched “babies.” download the pdf.

11/11/10

Bloomfield High School Teacher Wins Environmental Education Grant

New Jersey: Bloomfield High School teacher Michael Doyle now has extra money to supplement his students’ lesson plans with hands-on learning, thanks to a $1,917.45 grant from PSEG. download the pdf.

10/12/10

The Leonardo of limulus, a Salty Jackson Pollock with a Prehistoric Canvas

Massachusetts: For five years, Greg Vaughan has liberated the shells and carcasses of dead horseshoe crabs from the sand and seaweed around Pleasant Bay. All in the name of arthropod art. download the pdf.

He Paints Horseshoe Crabs! YouTube

10/08/10

Biotech Firm Scores $600,000 Venture Capital Infusion

Alabama: A Birmingham-based biotechnology firm has received a $600,000 venture capital boost to continue operations and hire at least one more worker. download the pdf.

09/24/10

Shorebird Researchers Document Red Knot’s Record-breaking Non-stop Flight and Total Migration Distance

New Jersey: Using light-sensitive geolocators, shorebird researchers tracked and recorded the annual migration of Red Knots (Calidris canutus) from New Jersey (USA) to their Arctic breeding grounds and South American “wintering” grounds. One flew nearly 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) for six days, a record-breaking non-stop flight for this species; it also covered one of the longest recorded annual distances of any bird species: 16,600 miles (26,700 kilometers) in total. Download the pdf.

09/18/10

Horseshoe Crabs Thriving in Outer Cape Salt Pond

Massachusetts: The ancient, delicate and crusty horseshoe crab, with ancestors older than dinosaurs, has decided to make a home on the shores of East Harbor, where federal protections can provide a refuge from humans. Evidence of the heavily armored crab, in the form of pale molted shells stuck in mud and reeds on the water’s edge, began appearing about two years ago in East Harbor and exploded to “thousands” last year, according to Cape Cod National Seashore plant ecologist Stephen Smith. download pdf.

09/02/10

New Hope for a Restored Jamaica Bay

New York: Sprawling across southern Queens and Brooklyn is Jamaica Bay, a wildlife refuge smack in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities. With its breathtaking views of green marshland and glimmering water set against the backdrop of New York’s urban landscape, it is the seeming image of peaceful coexistence between man and nature. However, years of abuse from over development and neglect have left the bay’s days numbered. download the pdf.

08/31/10

Climate Change Plays Unlucky for Horseshoe Crabs

US: Horseshoe crab populations are declining across the entire East Coast, from Maine to Florida, and are triggering a domino-effect among the larger animals that prey on them. Already, researchers are observing marked decreases in shore bird populations, especially the red knot bird and loggerhead sea turtles, two species that commonly feast on the crabs. Human activity, from overfishing to population booms along shorelines, have been blamed for recent drops in the number of American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). A new study in the journal Molecular Biology suggests that climate change may also play a significant role. download the pdf.

08/20/10

ASFMC Addendum VI Maintains a Management Program for the Delaware Bay Region

US: The provisions of Addendum VI are in place from November 1, 2010 through April 30, 2013. However, the Board may choose to replace Addendum VI with another addendum or amendment to the FMP prior to April 30, 2013. download the pdf.

08/20/10

Sea Wall Suit Says Bad Work is Killing Wildlife

New Jersey: A conservation organization has filed a lawsuit against Fairfield Township and the state Department of Environmental Protection for what it has deemed a negligently designed, built and supervised sea wall in Seabreeze. download the pdf.

08/13/10

Dead Fish Blanket Delaware Bay Shore

Delaware Bay: Never in more than a half-century of summers on Delaware Bay near Cape May, N.J., had Charles G. Cubbler Jr. seen anything like the fishy spectacle laid out along the water on Thursday. download the pdf.

08/10/10

New Restaurant, Marina Could Revitalize Sussex Coastal Town

Delaware: Nearly a decade worth of work to bring a new restaurant, marina and boat tour service through the coastal community of Slaughter Beach is one step closer to reality. download the pdf.

07/20/10

Local Teenager Wins International Young Eco Hero Award

Maryland: Alexander James Zerphy, aged 13, a resident of Annapolis, MD, is a winner of Action For Nature’s 2010 International Young Eco-Hero Award. Zerphy is being honored for educating the public about the urgent need to protect the Atlantic horseshoe crab, and for connecting people with nature. Read more »

07/20/10

Coastal Bays Shorelines Work Best When They’re Alive

Maryland: If you’ve got short little legs like a diamondback terrapin or a horseshoe crab, you can’t scale or shimmy up bulkhead or riprap. But you can crawl onto a sandy, natural beach to deposit your eggs. Maryland’s state reptile, the diamondback terrapin, lays its eggs along the sandy shorelines of local brackish waters. Horseshoe crabs do, too. The coastal bays, located behind Ocean City and Assateague Island, provide prime nesting habitat for these aquatic animals. However, these critical nesting areas are at risk. download the pdf.

07/20/10

Coastal Bays Shorelines Work Best When They’re Alive

Maryland: If you’ve got short little legs like a diamondback terrapin or a horseshoe crab, you can’t scale or shimmy up bulkhead or riprap. But you can crawl onto a sandy, natural beach to deposit your eggs. Maryland’s state reptile, the diamondback terrapin, lays its eggs along the sandy shorelines of local brackish waters. Horseshoe crabs do, too. The coastal bays, located behind Ocean City and Assateague Island, provide prime nesting habitat for these aquatic animals. However, these critical nesting areas are at risk. download the pdf.

07/15/10

Horseshoe Crab Decline ‘Alarming’

Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts graduate student Sarah Martinez is careful about drawing non-scientific conclusions about her horseshoe crab research. But, after four years doing population surveys onthese dinosaur-age survivors, Martinez, who hails from Yarmouth, can’t help herself. download the pdf.

06/26/10

A Fresh Approach To Save Ancient Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware Bay: Earlier this spring, the beaches of Delaware Bay were loaded with horseshoe crab eggs — the first evidence that more than a decade of harvest reductions and intensive management may be paying off. download the pdf.

05/28/10

Horseshoe Crabs’ Annual Spawning Draws Red Knots, Spectators to Delaware Bay Shore

New Jersey: Mario and Aida D’Angelo, of Quebec, peered through binoculars, looking for what they had traveled 450 miles to see. There, in the water’s edge at Reeds Beach, lurked thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of horseshoe crabs biding their time until Thursday’s full-moon tide would signal the peak of the annual spawn. The crabs on this single beach are joining spawning crabs along the Delaware Bay this week in what some observers say is one of New Jersey’s greatest wildlife spectacles. download the pdf.

05/20/10

Horseshoe Crabs May Be Recovering

Delaware: In more than a decade of watching, the Delaware Shorebird monitoring team never saw a spring like this one. From the air, the beaches of Delaware Bay were covered with spawning horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

05/16/10

Medically, We’re Really Lucky to Have Horseshoe Crabs Around

South Carolina: To flip, or not to flip: That is the Low-country question. When you walk on the beach at this time of year, you’re likely to see dozens, scores, even hundreds of horseshoe crabs, most of them lying helplessly on their crusty, prehistoric-looking backs. download the pdf.

05/02/10

From Cod to Conch- How the Fisheries Have Shifted Focus Over The Past Twenty-Five Years

Massachusetts: Jimmy Morgan fished from the Mary and Verna for almost forty years out of Menemsha. In July 2008, there tired fisherman was featured in the magazine, which has covered recreational and commercial fishing regularly through the years. Way back when Janet Messineo used to wait tables in Vineyard restaurants, calamari was never on the menu. And sushi? Who’d ever heard of sushi? And twenty-five years ago, when this magazine began, fishermen could still harpoon swordfish in Vineyard waters. The great collapse of cod stocks had not happened. Few of us had even heard of global warming, let alone anticipated its potential to devastate our lobster fishery. Who thought conch fishing would become a major industry? Who thought “trash” species like the horseshoe crab would need a management plan for protection? Yes, a great deal has changed in the past quarter century: what we harvest from the sea, what we eat of it, what we do with the rest, what’s still out there, and what is no longer out there. download the pdf.

04/25/10

From New York Harbor’s Depths, Muck to Restore Islands in Jamaica Bay

New York: For generations, the islands of Jamaica Bay, the 26-square-mile natural sanctuary off theBrooklyn and Queens shoreline that is home to hundreds of species of migratory birds and marine life, have been disappearing, victims of environmental neglect. download the pdf.

04/23/10

Fishermen Feud Over Horseshoe Crab Protection

Massachusetts: Ancient crabs spawn during full moon in May, June. Among all the species taken by fishermen in this part of the world, horseshoe crabs have, until now, enjoyed a dubious distinction: they were the only ones targeted while in the act of reproducing. The easiest way for many to catch them was to walk the beaches at the times of the full and new moons in May and June and simply pick them up as they came into the shallows to spawn. Not anymore though. As of this year, new regulations will stop the practice. For five days around each full and new moon, they will be left undisturbed as they sow future generations of themselves. A new minimum size limit also has been established. download the pdf.

04/20/10

Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Seeks Volunteers for Horseshoe Crab Tagging

Connecticut: The Maritime Aquarium is seeking volunteers to help attach census tags to horseshoe crabs as the crabs come up out of the water to spawn at Calf Pasture Beach. download the pdf.

04/19/10

Researcher’s Breakthrough Ensures Future Supplies Of The Medically Vital Horseshoe Crab

Connecticut: Carmela Cuomo plunged her hand into a fish tank and stirred the bottom with a spoon, creating a swirling cloud of sand, gravel, and tiny horseshoe crabs. The hatchlings — visible best under a microscope — are the fruits of 11 years of experimentation spurred by what was almost a dare from a colleague: Would it be possible to rear horseshoe crabs from the ghostly, translucent hatchling stage to their spiky-tailed, fully armored adulthood? download the pdf.

04/08/10

Wildlife And Progress Return To Jamaica Bay

New York: A few years ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and partnering agencies restored Elders Point East, a marsh island in Jamaica Bay that had been deteriorating. Last summer, Melissa Alvarez, a senior project biologist with the Army Corps’ New York District, made a few interesting discoveries while inspecting the island.  “I saw movement in the water as the tide was draining one of the creeks,” Alvarez said. “I looked closer and saw something I’ve never seen — there were dozens of juvenile horseshoe crabs swimming within the tidal creek. They were the size of a quarter, but this meant so much more. It means that the restored island is now providing successful breeding for horseshoe crabs.”  download the pdf.

03/27/10

State Agency Wants Help Counting Horseshoe Crabs On South Florida Beaches

Florida: State wildlife biologists are asking the public this weekend to do a little peeping in the name of science: They want people to find horseshoe crabs caught spawning at local beaches. download the pdf.

03/27/10

5-Day Crab Closures Each New And Full Moon In May and June

Massachusetts: Beginning this season, horseshoe crab rules will be amended to increase protection of mature and spawning crabs and to minimize the chances of local stock depletion. Director Paul Diodati and the Marine FisheriesAdvisory Commission approved new conservation measures to go into effect on April 16 for the upcoming season:  download the pdf.

03/19/10

A Day Aboard the Dredge Pullen

Delaware Bay: Under a cloudless sky and near-70-degree temperatures, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers yesterday provided a peek into how the Delaware River shipping channel is dredged. download the pdf.

02/05/10

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Stock Assessment Overview

US: This document summarizes the 2009 benchmark stock assessment for horseshoe crab, and the multi-species Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) framework. The horseshoe crab assessment and ARM framework were evaluated by an independent pane of scientific experts through the Commission’’s External Peer Review process. The horseshoe crab assessment represents the most recent and best information on the status of horseshoe crab stocks for use in fisheries management, and the ARM framework provides guidance for the multi-species management of horseshoe crab and red knot in the Delaware Bay. download the pdf.

01/28/10

Judge OKs Delaware River Dredging

Delaware: It’s a go for deepening the Delaware River shipping channel an additional 5 feet. U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson in Wilmington yesterday denied Delaware’s request to block the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers from starting the 102.5-mile deepening, in a stretch of water off Delaware. download the pdf.

01/26/10

Van Drew Blocks Cumberland Scientist’s Appointment to Pinelands Commission

New Jersey: Larry Niles was the choice of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, environmental groups throughout the region and even former Gov. Jon S. Corzine to fill a vacancy on the Pinelands Commission. The state Senate thought otherwise. download the pdf.

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.

12/18/08

Charles River Laboratories Expands Operations in Charleston S.C

South Carolina: A biotechnology firm that uses the blood from horseshoe crabs to help drug makers test the safety of injectable medicines and other products said Wednesday that it will increase the size of its Charleston operations by 60 employees over the next five years. Download the pdf.

12/17/08

Bird Imperiled, Feds Rule

Red knot shorebirds that stop in New Jersey on their spring migration are several steps closer to federal endangered species status, after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised its priority list and classed the birds as being in “imminent” peril. Download the pdf.

11/28/08

This Journey to Save the World Begins With a Dwindling Flock of Red Knots

Massachusetts: An ad hoc committee, the Global Conservation Alliance, consisting of Famous,Turnbull and this writer, was formed to save the planet. Well, at the least we would sample the political waters of an issue that had pitted commercial interests against naturalist researchers and bird huggers, and we would look into the possibilities of finding and obtaining a supplementary food provision for the birds. Download the pdf.

11/20/08

Broken Seawall Prompts State to Assess Home Values in Sea Breeze

New Jersey: As the Delaware Bay battered Sea Breeze’s deteriorating year-old seawall, state officials quietly sent two independent appraisers to assess home values in this isolated community. Download the pdf.

11/05/08

NOAA Takes Stock of Assessment Scientists and Comes up Short

The number of experts able to analyze data is decreasing as role of fishery management is increasing. Download the pdf.

10/30/08

Fowler’s Beach Overwash Update

Delaware: In 2006 Hurricane Ernesto caused a beach overwash just north of  Fowler’s Beach Road on  Prime Hook NWR. This washout has been somewhat controversial. On May 12,2008 a Nor’easter brought flooding and overtopped or completely removed beach dunes from the Slaughter Beach Community to Fowler’s Beach Road. This includes the 2006 overwash area, totaling almost 2 miles of beach. Download the pdf.

10/21/08

Dowling’s Environmental Science Expansion Gets Boost

New York: Dowling College got a recent boost when the college took over a waterfront marine laboratory at the former Bluepoints property in West Sayville.

 By next summer, the lab will be filled with horseshoe crabs and other invertebrates for research projects. Download the pdf.

10/09/08

Grace Pierce-Beck Dies at 82

Delaware: One of Delaware’s most influential environmentalists — a petite, soft-spokenwoman who often measured her successes in small, incremental steps in her battles against polluters and in support of Delaware’s fragile shoreline and creatures. Download the pdf.

10/09/08

The Oldest Horseshoe Crabs

At least 150 exceptionally preserved horseshoe crab specimens from six localities within the latest Tremadocian-early Floian (Early Ordovician) of the fully marine Lower and Upper Fezouata Formations of Morocco shows that partial opisthosomal fusion originated even earlier. Download the pdf.

09/09/08

Conch, Cash Beckon on Mt. Hope Bay

Rhode Island: If there is a conch city hiding under the waters of Mt. Hope Bay, Joe Strong is going to find it. Fishing since he was a teenager, Mr. Strong, who is now 81, decided 15 years ago to try his hand at conch fishing, going after large sea snails in baited pots. He has been at it ever since. Download the pdf.

09/05/08

Gandys Beach Residents Fear DEP Will Not Let Them Save Their Homes

New Jersey: At high tide, the water rushes in beneath the houses here on Gandys Beach. It flows between the stilts, over the foundation and leaves water marks on the wood piling. Ten to 15 years ago, the Delaware Bay didn’t get this close. Download the pdf.

09/03/08

It’s Called a Jubilee, But The Crabs Aren’t Happy & We Shouldn’t Be

Chesapeake Bay: When John Smith wrote of his Chesapeake explorations, he harked back to the many naturalobservations made during his voyages. In his accounts, he alluded to-not always with proper credit-theobservations of other Jamestown settlers about various locations in the lower Chesapeake. Download the pdf.

08/21/08

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Board Approves Horseshoe Crab Addendum V

The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab. The Addendum maintains the suite of management measures contained in Addendum IV for an additional year. Download the pdf

08/17/08

Sociologist Studies Cape Conch Fishery

Massachusetts: Snails are considered an esoteric foreign sort of delicacy, certainly not associated with a New England fishery. But our largest snail, the channel whelk or conch, is a multi-million dollar product based around Cape Cod. Download the pdf.


07/17/08

Horseshoe Crabs Increasing in Delaware Bay

Efforts to rebuild the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population seem to be working, according to recent assessments.  Download the pdf.

07/08/08

Chatham Mussels and Horseshoe Crabs at Cotuit Town Landing

 

Massachusetts: Wade Behlman of Hyannis, is shown at the Cotuit Town Landing with Chatham mussels and horseshoe crabs that he uses as bait for the conch he gathers outside the Cotuit Harbor. Download the pdf.

07/07/08

Horseshoe Crab Fishery Closes

Massachusetts: The horseshoe crab fishery closes today, July 7, to allow the state Division of Marine Fisheries to account for the number of horseshoe crabs landed in Massachusetts so far this year. Download the pdf.

06/26/08

Delaware Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal to Close Horseshoe Crab Fishery

Delaware: On June 24, the Delaware Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by a consortium of environmental groups seeking to close Delaware’s horseshoe crab fishery. download the pdf.

06/24/08

Delaware’s Supreme Court Rules on Horseshoe Crab Harvesting

Delaware: The American Littoral Society, Inc., Delaware Audubon Society, the Delaware Riverkeeper, acting on behalf of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and New Jersey Audubon Society seek to reverse the Superior Court’s decision invalidating a moratorium on horseshoe crab harvesting. Download the pdf.

06/15/08

Restrictions Reduce Horseshoe Crab Fishing

New York: Conservation and commerce recently collided on a moonlit beach off Dune Road here when scientists counting horseshoe crabs mating in the sandy shallows bumped into a fisherman rapidly throwing the same crabs into his boat. Download the pdf.

06/09/08

Blue Bloods

Massachusetts: Fears about overfishing and habitat loss spur count of state’s horseshoe crabs. Download the pdf.

05/25/08

Crab Poachers, Beware!

New York: Federal officers are ramping up patrols in Jamaica Bay in search of one of the most obscure criminals on land or sea: horseshoe crab poachers. Download the pdf.

05/13/08

State’s Coastal Habitat Could be Altered

Delaware Bay: Storm comes at a bad time for species who are migrating or spawning, such as shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

05/13/08

Coast Thrashed by Winds and Rain

Delaware: A late-season coastal storm battered Delaware with heavy winds and torrential rains, forcing evacuations along Delaware Bay in Kent County and knocking out power to tens of thousands. Download the pdf.

04/27/08

Sea Story

Connecticut: Kids pen bilingual (English/Spanish) book about the plight of the horseshoe crab. Download the pdf.

04/14/08

Sacred Heart University Scientists Expand Horseshoe Crab Study

New York: Professors of biology spearheading a study of horseshoe crab populations in the Long Island Sound will expand their program this year by training volunteers from partnering organizations in three states to participate in a census of the animals. Download the pdf.

04/08/08

Under Pressure: Horseshoe Crabs Appear To Be Dwindling

Massachusetts: Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday held a conference dedicated to the ancient arthropod. Download the pdf.

04/01/08

Review of The 2007 ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Fishery Management Plan

 

This review was prepared by the ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Plan Review Team, and presented to the ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Management Board. Download the pdf.

03/11/08

Senate Panel Moves for Lengthy Ban on Horseshoe Crabbing

New Jersey: The state Senate Environment Committee on Monday released legislation to impose a long-term moratorium on horseshoe crab harvests, but senators said they will follow up the measure with amendments later to reduce a harsh $10,000 fine proposed for illegal possession of the helmet-shaped arthropods used as commercial fishing bait. Downlaod the pdf.

03/07/08

Horseshoe-crab Harvest Set at 0, Voids Moratorium

New Jersey: Last month, the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council voted 5-4 to overturn a state moratorium on horseshoe crab harvesting imposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection. On Thursday afternoon, the council voted unanimously to set the harvest level for 2008 at zero horseshoe crabs. Download the pdf.

03/05/08

Groups Criticize Corzine for “Business as Usual”

New Jersey: The New Jersey Audubon Society and Sierra Club are pressing their criticism of Gov. Corzine’s nominations this week to the state Marine Fisheries Council, with arguments that the panel needs representation from interests outside the fishing community. Download the pdf.

02/28/08

New Jersey Imposes Moratorium on Harvest and Possession of Horseshoe Crabs

New Jersey: Assembly, No. 2260, State of New Jersey, 213th Legislature. Imposes moratorium on harvest and possession of horseshoe crabs. As reported by the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on February 28, 2008, with amendments. download the pdf.

02/23/08

Horseshoe Crabs Highlight Divide Between Wildlife Managers, Activists

New Jersey: Gil Ewing recently voted to continue a ban on horseshoe crab harvesting on the Delaware Bay, but for an unusual reason. Ewing, a member of New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council for two decades and its longtime chairman, didn’t want to lose another species. download the pdf.

02/08/08

Oldest Horseshoe Crab Fossil Found, 445 Million Years Old

Canada: Few modern animals are as deserving of the title “living fossil” as the lowly horseshoecrab. Seemingly unchanged since before the Age of Dinosaurs, these venerable sea creatures can now claim a history that reaches back almost half-a billion years. In a collaborative research article published recently in the British Journal Palaeontology, a team of Canadians cientists revealed rare new horseshoe crab fossils from 445 million year-old Ordovician age rocks in central andnorthern Manitoba, which are about 100 million years older than any previously known forms. Download the pdf.

02/04/08

PBS Focuses on Fragile Shorebird at Center of N.J. Battle

New Jersey: A court appeal in Trenton scheduled for Tuesday and the Sunday premiere of a PBS “Nature” television special are the latest salvos in the long battle over New Jersey horseshoe crabs and shorebirds — a fight that will come to a head again in seven days. download the pdf.

01/23/08

Horseshoe Crab Limit Set at 100,000

Delaware: Delaware environment officials will stick with their planned harvest of 100,000 male-only horseshoe crabs this year, despite a decision by New Jersey to extended its existing two-year harvest ban. Download the pdf.

01/17/08

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee Report

The Technical Committee met on January 17th to review recent research, monitoring, and landings in anticipation of a Management Board discussion about starting a new addendum. Download the pdf.

12/14/07

No Proof for Crab Ban, Fishermen Say

Delaware Bay: A group of Delaware Bay fishermen are suing the state Department of Environmental Protection to try to overturn a moratorium on horseshoe crab harvesting. Download the pdf.

06/30/07

Horseshoe Crabs and Watermen Struggle to Coexist

Delaware: This time of year, the horseshoe crabs practically have the place to themselves. With only a sunbather and a smattering of greenhead flies in the distance, the spiderlike creatures mate undisturbed on the sandy shores. But just a few miles away sits what the crab’s protectors consider a major threat to a species that is older than dinosaurs – Charlie Auman, a waterman who has spent much of his adult life catching horseshoe crabs and selling them for bait. Download the pdf.

06/11/07

Horseshoe Crabs In Political Pinch Over Bird’s Future

Delaware: Creature is favored bait on shores of Delaware; Red knot loses in court. Download the pdf.

06/08/07

Kelley Drye Represents Conch Fishermen in Successful Repeal of Moratorium on Horseshoe Crab Harvesting

Delaware: A decision issued today by the Sussex County, Delaware Superior Court invalidates a moratorium on the harvest of horseshoe crabs just in time for the summer harvest season in the Delaware Bay. Representing a group of horseshoe crab and conch fishermen, David Frulla, a fisheries specialist at the law firm Kelley Drye Collier Shannon, helped convince a judge that, on the record before the court, the moratorium was baseless because a limited harvest strategy providing equivalent conservation benefits was available but rejected. download the pdf.

06/08/07

Delaware Conch Fishermen Successfully Repeal Moratorium on Horseshoe Crab Harvesting

Delaware: A decision issued today by the Sussex County, Delaware Superior Court invalidates a moratorium on the harvest of horseshoe crabs just in time for the summer harvest season in the Delaware Bay. Download the pdf.

06/03/07

State Nabs 10 For Taking Too Many Crabs

New York: Each spring during the high tides of the new and full moons, horseshoe crabs line local shores to spawn. Ten local fishermen, some under cover of night, seized this annual ritual as a money-making opportunity. Download the pdf.

05/24/07

New Nature Center Attracts a Flock of Bird-Watchers

Delaware: Mispillion Harbor site focuses on shorebirds and horseshoe crab eggs they feed on. Download the pdf.

05/04/07

Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary Declared at West Meadow Beach

New York: May 6, 2007, will mark the first day horseshoe crabs will receive special protection at our beloved West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook.  This is an historic measure as it is the first time such a new regulation is in operation anywhere along the New York State coastline. Download the pdf.

02/08/07

Promoting Conservation through the Arts: Outreach for Hearts and Minds

Global: “Conservation through the arts may reach a more diverse audience and reach them more successfully by engaging their hearts as well as minds.” Conservation Biology, Volume 21, No.1, February 2007. download the pdf.

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.

07/01/05

Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crabs are Thriving!

Letter to the Editor from Carl Shuster. Half a century ago, Rachel Carson’s books – The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea – were recommended readings for aspiring marine biologists. Birds were not the subject of The Edge of the Sea; she did comment on horseshoe crabs. Download the pdf.

06/18/05

Horseshoe crabs are sustainable without stringent limits on fishery

News Journal: Letters to the Editor. Environmental activists, led by New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program and New Jersey Audubon, continue their misrepresentation of statistics in
support of their narrow ecological vision of closing the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab fishery. Download the pdf.

06/17/05

Mispillion Inlet: a mix of watermen, waterfowl and horseshoe crabs

The Mispillion Inlet, where the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek empty into the Delaware Bay, is a special place. Download the pdf.

06/12/05

Fishermen blast crabbing moratorium

Environmentalists hope to protect red knots. Download the pdf.

06/10/05

Drop halts N.J. horseshoe crab harvest

State calls two-week moratorium due to shortage of migratory red knots. Download the pdf.

06/10/05

Horseshoe Crabs’ Decline Further Imperils Shorebirds

Mid-Atlantic States Searching for Ways to Reverse Trend . Download the pdf.

06/09/05

Thousands of Horseshoe Crabs Perish

Dead or dying crabs caught as rains block escape route. Download the pdf.

04/25/03

DNREC Reduces 2003 Commercial Harvest of Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: Delaware’s commercial horseshoe crab harvest was reduced effective 12:01 a.m. Friday, April 25 under an emergency Order signed by Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes. download the pdf.

04/15/03

A multi-year horseshoe crab tagging study will begin this spring in the Delaware Bay

Tags Help Researchers Understand Horseshoe Crab Populations

A multi-year horseshoe crab tagging study will begin this spring in the Delaware Bay. During April, scientists from DNREC Delaware Coastal Programs, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Cornell University are tagging and releasing thousands of male and female horseshoe crabs throughout the Bay. Read more »

03/01/03

Watermen Resist Horseshoe Crab Limits

Delaware: Delaware and New Jersey watermen vowed Friday to fight a proposal by regulators in both states to further restrict their horseshoe crab harvests. Regulators said Thursday they plan to ban beach harvesting from May 1 to June 7 and to cap each state’s harvest at roughly half of last year’s landings. download the pdf.

07/02/02

Horseshoe crab named Delaware’s official marine animal

By MOLLY MURRAY, Sussex Bureau reporter

Delaware has its state bug, the lady beetle; its official fish, the sea trout; and its own bird, the blue hen chicken. Read more »

05/27/02

Decrease in Crabs Raises Concerns

By JAMES GORMAN

For hundreds of millions of years, horseshoe crabs have spawned with relatively little fanfare. This spring, however, as they have hauled themselves up on the beaches of Delaware Bay, they have been counted, collected for bait, observed, and argued over. Read more »

09/03/01

Horseshoe Crabs and NASA

The horseshoe crab’s highly developed sensitivity to endotoxins, has been seized upon by another industry that worries about bacteria: NASA. NASA’s Planetary Protection Program has discovered the value of the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test in maintaining a sterile environment for its Mars missions. Read more »

06/08/01

Counting Crabs

Listen to the audio clip

Until recently, the horseshoe crab was considered to be little more than a pest. When they come ashore to spawn, many die, rot and ruin beaches. The Bay of the Delaware River has the greatest concentration of horseshoes in the world. Five years ago, the spawning dropped suddenly. States all along the Atlantic coast moved swiftly to protect the horseshoe, including limiting its catch. But scientists cannot say if enough has been done to help it recover because there is so little information about the horseshoe crab. Bruce Schimmel joined one team getting ready to track and count horseshoes as they are about to come ashore and spawn at Prime Hook Beach in Delaware.

10/12/00

NOAA Fisheries Closes Area To Fishing For Horseshoe Crabs

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service has banned fishing for horseshoe crabs in federal waters off the mouth of Delaware Bay. The ban provides additional protection for local stocks and ensures that declining populations of migratory shorebirds have an abundant source of horseshoe crab eggs to feed upon when they stop to rest in Delaware Bay before moving north to their Canadian nesting areas. Read more »

04/05/00

ISFMP Policy Board Recommends Virginia Be Found Out of Compliance with Addendum I to the Horseshoe Crab FMP

Alexandria, Virginia – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board has recommended that the Commonwealth of Virginia be found out-of-compliance, effective May 1, 2000, with the required landings cap provision of Addendum I to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for horseshoe crab. Read more »

02/10/00

Horseshoe Crab Management Board Votes to Reduce Coast Wide Commercial Bait Landings by 25%

Virginia: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board today approved Addendum I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab, which implements harvest reduction measures along the Atlantic coast for the commercial horseshoe crab bait fishery. download the pdf.

04/01/99

Board Approves Addendum I to the Horseshoe Crab FMP

Alexandria, Virginia – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board today approved Addendum I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab, which implements harvest reduction measures along the Atlantic coast for the commercial horseshoe crab bait fishery. Specifically, the Addendum establishes a state-by-state cap at 25 percent below 1995–1997 levels of 2,999,491 horseshoe crabs for all states. Individual state horseshoe crab fisheries would be closed once its cap is reached. Read more »

 

Horseshoe Crabs in Asia

06/21/23

International Horseshoe Crab Day: Against All Odds

Global: In June 2019, during the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group international workshop in Guangxi, China, participants from 14 countries and regions endorsed the Beibu Gulf Declaration on Global Horseshoe Crab Conservation, to call for strengthening of policy making and better enforcement, more scientific investigations and research, sustainable management of horseshoe crabs, restoring natural populations and protecting their critical habitats, and promoting public and multi-party participation in horseshoe crab conservation. In further extending their public outreach activities around the world, the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group have designated 20th June every year as the International Horseshoe Crab Day to showcase the collective conservation efforts for the four horseshoe crab species. Since the first International Horseshoe Crab Day in 2020, more than 60 conservation educational activities, including symposia, webinars, public talks, film and video shows, exhibitions, workshops and eco-tours were organized across the geographical range of horseshoe crabs. Information on such activities will be posted on a webpage of the Beibu Gulf University, China (https://lbgmbc.bbgu.edu.cn/gjhbyr.htm). Against All Odds 2023 Booklet

05/16/21

A Program for Implementing Effective Regional conservation actions for the Asian Horseshoe Crabs

China: Present declines in Asian horseshoe crabs are primarily attributed to overharvesting and habitat loss. The IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group (HCSG) jointly with Beibu Gulf University, China, has established an observation network to bridge explicit baseline gaps in Asian horseshoe crab conservation. Learn More

12/02/20

Conservation of Asian Horseshoe Crabs on Spotlight

Asia: Unlike the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), whose fishery and harvest are well monitored and managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the conservation of Asian species, i.e., the tri-spine horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus), the coastal horseshoe crab (T. gigas) and the mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda), is a more formidable challenge, due to the intricacies of regional laws and inconsistent enforcement (John et al. 2018). download the pdf.

10/05/19

After 450 Million Years, the Chinese Horseshoe Crab is now Endangered

China: The horseshoe crab has been around since before the dinosaurs. Over the past 30 years, numbers in China, home to one of four species of this “living fossil”, have plummeted. One of the main reasons is demand for the animal’s copper-based blood, which is used to make the most sensitive indicator of bacteria ever discovered. In March this year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the Chinese horseshoe crab (also known as the tri-spine horseshoe) as endangered. But few people in China are aware of the plight of this 450-million-year- old creature, and experts are calling for stronger measures to protect it. download the pdf.

05/27/19

Grilled Horseshoe Crabs a Big Hit in Malaysia

Malaysia: A stall offering exotic seafood, belangkas bakar (grilled horseshoe crabs), is attracting visitors at Padang Wahid Ramadan Bazaar in Kedawang. According to seller, Zaitun Jaafar, 22, horseshoe crabs prepared in various cooking styles — grilled, boiled, cooked in sambal, masak lemak cili padi and kerabustyle are offered at her stall daily. download the pdf.

12/15/18

Horseshoe Crabs Living Through A Crisis

Global: In a new study (Shu et al. 2018), we were able to record horseshoe crab tracks from a succession of rocks that spanned the great Permian-Triassic (PT) mass extinction 252 million years ago. Limulids (of course) survived, but we had questions to ask about whether the devastating environmental changes associated with the mass extinction had in any way knocked them sideways. download the pdf.

12/15/18

Those Unique Living Fossils

India: While many species have evolved to adapt to the changing environment there are others that have never felt the need to do so… download the pdf.

09/26/18

New Species of Horseshoe Crab Discovered Along Odisha Coast

India: A new horseshoe crab species has been found along the Odisha coast. Marine biologist of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa Sumedha Chinnari recently discovered the new species from a creek near Bay of Bengal in the State. download the pdf.

05/10/18

Commission Approves Modern Animal-Free Testing for Drugs

India: In a step that would spare animals from suffering due to drug experiments, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission has approved modern, animal-free tests for drug manufacturers. In the 2018 edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia, that provides guidelines on tests for drugs manufactured and marketed in India, the IPC has replaced the pyrogen test carried out on rabbits and the abnormal toxicity test carried out on guinea pigs and mice with tests that can be done in test tubes. download the pdf.

02/26/18

Kinmen Reopens Jiangong Islet to Public

Taiwan: Large numbers of tourists have visited Jiangong Islet in Kinmen County since it was recently re-opened to the public, and its rich ecosystem amazes visitors as they walk the stone path in the islet’s intertidal zone. download the pdf.

02/23/18

New Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation Joins FIU

China: Florida International University Pew Marine Fellow Wuying Lin plans to advance conservation policies to disrupt the illicit trade of marine wildlife in South China. download the pdf.

02/23/18

Digital Dissection: CT Scans Reveal New Muscles in Horseshoe Crabs

Australia: A team of students from the University of New England (UNE) in Australia conducted CT scans of a dried horseshoe crab carcass from the
University of New England Natural History Museum as well as of fresh appendages, and then used the scans to create a 3-D model of its muscular system. The 3-D image revealed some new muscular structures in the horseshoe crab appendages. download the pdf.

02/21/18

Horseshoe Crab Conservation along Chandipur Coast and Nearby Estuaries in Odisha

India: In an effort to facilitate nesting and to conserve a living fossil, the “Horseshoe Crab” along Chandipur Beach and nearby estuaries, the Association for Biodiversity Conservation (ABC) in partnership with the New Hope volunteers, organised an awareness “Come Cleaning” event along a five km stretch of beach on 15 March 2017. download the pdf.

01/26/18

How Horseshoe Crabs Helped Pen Pals

Taiwan: Students from Jinhu Junior High School on the outlying island county of Kinmen are excited about an upcoming visit from their French pen pals, whom they are determined to impress with local charm and horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

11/01/17

UMT Researcher Develops TAL Kit

Malaysia: A Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) researcher has successfully developed a Quick Endotoxin Detecting Kit (TAL) based on her in-depth research of horseshoe crabs in the country. download the pdf.

 

08/15/17

Out of the Frying Pan, into the Wetlands

Malaysia: It’s early on a Sunday morning in July, and they’re here to witness the swarm of horseshoe crabs being released into the wetland on Malaysia’s eastern coast. For these ancient yet imperiled living fossils—they predate dinosaurs by 200 million years, and have changed little since—this was the last stop on a four-day, 250-kilometer journey meant to save them from becoming someone’s dinner. Now, they’re free to swim in Southeast Asia’s first horseshoe crab conservation area. download the pdf.

03/30/17

International Conference on the Conservation of Asian Horseshoe Crabs (ICCA-HSC 2017)

Thailand: The International Conference on the Conservation of Asian Horseshoe Crabs (ICCA-HSC 2017) will be held 25-27 August 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference objective is to create a platform for researchers, scientists, academicians, professionals and policy makers to discuss recent advances and new findings in various aspects on Asian horseshoe crab research and to encourage and develop research and development collaborations among the participating researchers and to facilitate research links between institutions. download the pdf.

02/23/17

Project to Save Horseshoe Crab Wins Green Prize in Singapore

Singapore: ITE College West student Eunos Chong had never met a horseshoe crab face to face until a project he started about two years ago made him passionate about protecting the endangered creatures. As part of a project for the SembCorp Marine Green Wave Environmental Care Competition, Mr Chong, 18, and three of his schoolmates designed and manufactured a “Horseshoe Crab Propagation System”, a system of tanks and an incubator for breeding and rearing horseshoe crabs. And on Thursday (Feb 23), they took home the winning prize in the junior college/ ITE category for their project. doownload the pdf.

02/22/17

Odisha Hopeful of World Heritage Tag for Bhitarkanika National Park

India: The Odisha government is hopeful of getting the Bhitarkanika National Park, the country’s second largest mangrove forest after the Sundarbans in neighbouring West Bengal, included in the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites. download the pdf.

02/18/17

Biodiversity and Distribution of Horseshoe Crabs in Northern Coast of Java and Southern Coast of Madura

Indonesia: Scientific information about species distribution of three Asian horseshoe crab in Indonesia is limited, also about morphometric characters. This study aims to determine the morphometric characters and species distribution of three Asian horseshoe crab in north coast of Java and south coast of Madura Island. This study was conducted on July-August 2016. download the pdf.

01/21/17

Braving Mud to Save Horseshoe Crabs

Singapore: Volunteers washing up and changing out of their diving shoes after helping to rescue horseshoe crabs at the Mandai mudflats. They were among 86 volunteers taking part in the Nature Society (Singapore)’s Horseshoe Crab Research and Rescue Programme, which saves horseshoe crabs that have been caught in nets and collects data for conservation purposes. download the pdf.

10/04/16

Rampaging Rays Likely Behind Massacre of Horseshoe Crabs

Japan: A suspect has been named as the guilty party in the mysterious deaths here of 500 horseshoe crabs, a species that has seen an alarming decrease in numbers recently. The suspect’s name is ray–the fish, that is. And not just regular-sized rays, but jumbo ones. “Crabs have been bit by rays, which spread an infectious disease among them,” said Makoto Yukimura, 66, a volunteer worker at the local Kabutogani Jimankan museum. “That may have resulted in the large number of deaths.” download the pdf.

09/15/16

Horseshoe Crab Habitat in Bengal Under Threat

India: The name of West Bengal has surfaced at the world congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is presently being held at Hawaii, for all the wrong reasons. The horseshoe crab – a ‘living fossil that has outlived even the dinosaurs – is now facing the threat of extinction in the coastal areas of West Bengal and Odisha. They are not found anywhere else in India. download the pdf.

07/21/16

Protected Horseshoe Crabs Set Free in China

China: 1,000 nationally protected horseshoe crabs (Tachypleus tridentatus), were seized by border police from a boat in Beihai, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. download the pdf.

04/25/16

Research Seeks to End Need for Blood of Horseshoe Crabs

Taiwan: The Kinmen County Fisheries Research Institute and National Tsing Hua University are collaborating on a research project aimed at eliminating the need to use horseshoe crab blood in tests to detect bacterial contamination in drugs and intravenous devices as well as other medical items. 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 

05/09/14

Hundreds of Areas Deemed ‘Important Waters’

Japan: The areas, which account f or around 18 percent of Japan’s coastal waters, include locations in Shizuoka and Aichi pref ectures where loggerhead turtles lay eggs, and Kasaoka, Okayama Pref ecture, which is known as a breeding ground f or horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

04/18/14

Loopholes in Protection of Two Key Wildlife Sites

Hong Kong: A green group is calling on conservation officials to plug loopholes in protection measures for ecologically sensitive areas in Tuen Mun and South Lantau. download the pdf.

12/08/13

Concern Over Dwindling Horseshoe Crab Population

India: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has planned to request the Central government to declare horseshoe crab habitats in the country as ecologically sensitive. download the pdf.

07/24/13

Data Collection at Similajau National Park Borneo

Borneo: Awang Zainuddin releasing a mating pair of horseshoe crabs after measuring and recording their measurements. Specimens which have been caught are marked so the researchers know which ones have been caught previously. download the pdf.

03/14/13

Bleeding, Bait and Birdfood: Challenges for the World’s Horseshoe Crabs

The Asian species of horseshoe crabs are currently listed on the IUCN Red List as Data Deficient, but given the overwhelmingly pessimistic reports, it seemed imperative to establish a Horseshoe Crab SSG to review the available data and update these assessments, as a first step towards developing comprehensive conservation strategies for all four species. download the pdf.

02/16/13

Attempt to Smuggle Rare Crabs Foiled in Jambi

Malaysia: Jambi Police officers seized 2,935 horseshoe crabs, locally known as belangkas or mimi, in an operation on Friday. A truck loaded with the crabs, which are declared protected species by the government, was intercepted by the officers when it crossed into the Aur Duri area. download the pdf.

12/19/12

Kinmen-bred Horseshoe Crabs to be Released in Southwestern

Taiwan: Thousands of horseshoe crabs bred in offshore Kinmen County will be released next April in southwestern Taiwan, where the species has been seriously depleted, officials said Wednesday. Download the pdf.

12/04/12

Group Urges End to Animal Testing

Taiwan: Showing video clips of rabbits in tiny boxes and rows of horseshoe crabs having their blood drawn, representatives from an animal welfare group and legislators yesterday urged the government to amend regulations to reduce unnecessary animal testing for drug production. download the pdf.

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

10/28/10

Farmer’s Feral Rice Comes From Paddy Rife With Life

Japan: A 70-year-old farmer grows high quality rice on a 7-hectare paddy in Chiba Prefecture that does not require cultivation as he uses plants developed like those in the wild. Compared with other rice fields in the area, Yoshihide Fujisaki’s paddy has many more living creatures, including loaches and frogs. Even birds that prey on them have come to settle on the field. download the pdf.

10/03/10

New Progress on Horseshoe Crab Rearing 馬蹄蟹保育迎來新進展

Hong Kong: It was a sunny morning when the Form 5 students from St Paul’s Secondary School started their journey to San Tau Village on Lantau Island. They were on a field trip during the summer vacation to study the ecological environment and characteristics of juvenile horseshoe crabs living in the wild. download the pdf.

07/13/10

Best Wildlife Hot Spots in Singapore

Singapore: Most people know Singapore as a busy and modern concrete jungle. But Singapore is also home to incredibly rich diversity of fauna and flora because of its geographical location. Singapore is home to more than 300 species of birds, roughly 60 species of mammals, at least 100 species of reptiles and 28 species of amphibians. download the pdf.

01/30/10

A Thai Village With A Passion For Food

Thailand: Two stalls by the estuary in a fishing village just to the north of Cha-Am in Thailand will delight any chef or seafood lover. download the pdf.

01/15/10

Recreational Fishing Lands New Business Opportunities

Taiwan: The rise of tourism as a key industry in Taiwan is bringing new hope to the country’s commercial fishing population, who are turning to recreational fishing for an economic turnaround. 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.

12/20/08

Horseshoe Crab – A Valuable Marine Creature

Malaysia:  About 26 phyla of marine organisms are found in the ocean, arthropods with over 35,000 varieties, contribute four fifth of all marine animal species. Download the pdf.

12/12/08

A Bigger And Better Heart, Thanks To This Crab

India: The horseshoe crab, described as the world’s oldest living fossil, could hold the key to the repair of damaged hearts. Scientists from Pune have found that the crab has a molecule with the potential to convert stem cells into the heart’s beating cells. Download the pdf.

11/27/08

早岐瀬戸にアメリカカブトガニ成体 国内初確認、在来種淘汰の危険性も

Japan: 佐世保市の早岐瀬戸で、国内には生息していないアメリカカブトガニの雄の成体が見つかった。絶滅が危惧(きぐ)されている在来種の保護に取り組む「日本カブトガニを守る会」によると、国内の自然環境下で生息が確認されたのは初めて。Download the pdf.

11/14/08

Students Release Baby Horseshoe Crabs in Penghu

Taiwan: Baby Asian horseshoe crabs Tachypleus tridentatus bred in captivity were released into the wild off Taiwan’s outlying island of Penghu in an effort to conserve the horseshoe crab species. This activity was held by the Penghu Marine Biology Research Center, Taiwan Fisheries Research Institute and the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA). According to a recent survey on horseshoe crabs, the species no longer has any habitats in Taiwan proper, and its remaining habitats in Kinmen and Penghu are currently under threat because of human activity and over-exploitation, despite the designation of reservation zones. Download the pdf.

11/14/08

New Incubation Ground for Horseshoe Crabs in Penghu Launched

Taiwan: The Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA)announced Friday that a new “incubation ground” for horseshoe crabs has been established in Cingwan,Penghu and predicted that the facility will greatly help to preserve the rare species that inhabits the outlying islet. Download the pdf.

10/30/08

Humans Threaten Horseshoe Crabs

Taiwan: The population of horseshoe crabs in Kinmen has been declining since 2003, indicating that human activities are gradually beginning to threaten the survival of the species, biologists reported yesterday. Download the pdf.

09/22/08

Second Coming of a Creature From Ancient Times

Hong Kong: The dwindling number of horseshoe crabs, in existence for over 400 million years, is getting new blood with the first release in Hong Kong of artificially bred creatures. Download the pdf.

06/24/08

Horseshoe Crabs Galloping Towards Extinction

India: Orissa is home to a wide variety of aquatic life, but the horseshoe crab and many freshwater turtles found here are on the verge of extinction. Download the pdf.

05/31/08

カブトガニ、2年ぶり確認

Japan: 笠岡市の笠岡湾沖で若い雄のカブトガニが見つかり、市立カブトガニ博物館が引き取った。Download the pdf.

05/20/08

Flawed Wildlife Law

Malaysia: Our wildlife law calls for saving wildlife but it has limited powers to do so. Download the pdf.

04/26/08

Baby Horseshoe Crabs Released off Kinmen

Taiwan: Some 350,000 baby Asian horseshoe crabs bred in captivity were released into the wild off Taiwan’s outlying island of Kinmen yesterday in an effort to conserve the “living fossil” species. Download the pdf.

04/23/08

Biodiversity Loss Hurts Drug Discovery, Says Medical Book

Singapore: A new generation of drugs made from nature, from antibiotics to treatments for cancer, may be lost unless the world acts to stop biodiversity loss, according to a new book. These developments could come from chemicals made by frogs, bears and pine trees, but the authors of “Sustaining Life” warned that species loss from climate change and pollution would hit the future of medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. download the pdf.

04/23/08

Biodiversity Loss Hurts Drug Discovery

 

Singapore: A new generation of drugs made from nature, from antibiotics to treatments for cancer, may be lost unless the world acts to stop biodiversity loss, according to a new book. Download the pdf.

01/03/08

Chiayi’s Haomeiliao Nature Preserve

Taiwan: Just a few kilometers from southern Taiwan’s most famous seafood market, there’s a conservation area that’s dedicated to the protection, rather than consumption, of sea creatures. Download the pdf.

07/05/07

The Horseshoe Crab’s Big Potential In Medical

Malaysia: The king crab, used as bait by fishermen to catch crabs or left to die in the sun when trapped in their fishing nets, may end up being the most sought after arthropod if its commercial value is fully realized. Download the pdf.

06/10/07

HSC Sightings in Chiayi Taiwan

Taiwan: Asian horseshoe crabs, known as one of the few “living fossil” species in the Taiwan area, have been sighted on the coast of the southern county of Chiayi recently, opening another wildlife conservation door, Chiayi County officials said Friday. Download the pdf

06/09/07

Crime Syndicates Smuggling Wildlife

International: It could be ivory concealed in a container, cans of caviar in a suitcase or baby chimpanzees in a crate. The smuggling of wildlife goods is a low-risk, high-profit enterprise proving increasingly attractive to crime syndicates. 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.

07/27/06

Big news from Japan: 九十九島の超巨大のカブトガニ

from July 27, 2006Download the pdf (in japanese).

12/26/05

Indian Government Moves to Protect Horseshoe Crabs: MoEF promises prompt action

New Delhi – Breaking its silence over the future of the endangered Horseshoe crab, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has promised prompt action to protect one of the earth’s oldest survivors. Download the pdf.

12/21/05

Indian Horseshoe Crabs in Serious Decline

Sibal writes to Environment: please help us save Ice Age survivor. Orissa coast one of last few habitats in the world of ecologically invaluable Horseshoe crab; its derivatives may rewrite medicine. Download the pdf.

11/22/05

Giant Horseshoe Crab Found in Nagasaki Prefecture

Japan: A giant horseshoe crab measuring 79.5 cm from head to tail, possibly the largest in Japan, has been found in the sea near the Kujukushima islands off Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. Download the pdf.

11/22/05

カブトガニ:日本最大級か 長崎・九十九島で発見

Japan:  西海国立公園内にある長崎県佐世保市の九十九島(くじゅうくしま)海域で、頭から尾の先までの全長が79.5センチある雌のカブトガニが見つかった。カブトガニは「生きている化石」と呼ばれ、生態を研究している岡山県笠岡市立カブトガニ博物館によると、国内最大級とみられる。Download the pdf.

 

Horseshoe Crabs in Europe

06/21/23

International Horseshoe Crab Day: Against All Odds

Global: In June 2019, during the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group international workshop in Guangxi, China, participants from 14 countries and regions endorsed the Beibu Gulf Declaration on Global Horseshoe Crab Conservation, to call for strengthening of policy making and better enforcement, more scientific investigations and research, sustainable management of horseshoe crabs, restoring natural populations and protecting their critical habitats, and promoting public and multi-party participation in horseshoe crab conservation. In further extending their public outreach activities around the world, the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group have designated 20th June every year as the International Horseshoe Crab Day to showcase the collective conservation efforts for the four horseshoe crab species. Since the first International Horseshoe Crab Day in 2020, more than 60 conservation educational activities, including symposia, webinars, public talks, film and video shows, exhibitions, workshops and eco-tours were organized across the geographical range of horseshoe crabs. Information on such activities will be posted on a webpage of the Beibu Gulf University, China (https://lbgmbc.bbgu.edu.cn/gjhbyr.htm). Against All Odds 2023 Booklet

08/19/19

Blue-Blooded Crabs at Heart of Pharma Dispute on Drug Testing

Zurich: Swiss biotech Lonza and U.S.-based Charles River Laboratories are the biggest suppliers of crab blood-based endotoxin tests, which detect bacterial contamination in intravenous drugs and medical implants. They are now at odds over the future of this testing, as Lonza urges adoption of a synthetic alternative called recombinant Factor C (rFC), amid pressure from wildlife campaigners and worries about supply reliability. Meanwhile, Charles River, which is still studying rFC, argues moving too quickly could compromise patient safety. download the pdf.

07/26/17

König Galerie, Berlin is presenting “400 Million Years Ago” by Danish artist Tue Greenfort.

Germany: This exhibition presents three new groups of Tue Greenfort’s works that evolve around processes of the natural world, discourses of ecology and notions of the environment, while the horseshoe crab figures as a theme to the exhibition’s perspective on human and non-human agency. download the pdf.

08/17/16

bioMérieux Acquires Hyglos and Expands its Offering to the Detection of Endotoxins in Pharmaceutical Products

Germany: bioMérieux, a global player in in vitro diagnostics and world leader in industrial microbiological control, announces the acquisition of Hyglos, a Bernried (Germany) – based company specializing in the detection of endotoxins. Founded in 2009, Hyglos has a unique and recognized expertise in the development and production of recombinant proteins used for the detection of endotoxins in pharmaceutical products. download the pdf.

ERDG in the News

10/15/24

USP Chapter <86> Bacterial Endotoxins Test Using Recombinant Reagents: A Step Forward, But Not a Milestone for Horseshoe Crab Conservation

Global: White paper by Glenn Gauvry, founder and president of ERDG. The recent introduction of USP Chapter <86> marks a significant step by incorporating recombinant reagents as alternatives to those derived from horseshoe crab hemolymph in bacterial endotoxin testing. While this advancement reduces reliance on horseshoe crabs, this paper explores why it may not substantially impact the conservation of these species. Major threats like habitat loss, unregulated harvesting in Asia, and other human activities persist. We examine global regulatory landscapes and industry adoption barriers, highlighting the need for continued collaborative efforts to address the broader conservation challenges facing the world’s four horseshoe crab species. USP_Chapter_86_Gauvry_10:14:2024

09/19/24

Big Stone Beach becomes ERDG’s 11th Backyard Stewardship™ Community Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary

Delaware: Big Stone Beach Delaware Becomes ERDG’s 11th Backyard Stewardship™ Community Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary

06/22/23

Horseshoe Crabs Are an Essential Part of Life in Delaware

Delaware: The Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) in the June issue of Delaware Today “Horseshoe Crabs Are an Essential Part of Life in Delaware,” ERDG asked the Delaware State Legislature…… “with its broad-based pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare influence, Delaware should become the first state to incentivize the use of alternative animal-free BET instead of continuing to use LAL, he urges. “It would make a profound difference in the conservation of the species.” Envision this initiative being implemented up and down the US Atlantic Coast, home to some of the world’s largest multinational pharmaceutical companies. learn more

06/21/23

International Horseshoe Crab Day: Against All Odds

Global: In June 2019, during the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group international workshop in Guangxi, China, participants from 14 countries and regions endorsed the Beibu Gulf Declaration on Global Horseshoe Crab Conservation, to call for strengthening of policy making and better enforcement, more scientific investigations and research, sustainable management of horseshoe crabs, restoring natural populations and protecting their critical habitats, and promoting public and multi-party participation in horseshoe crab conservation. In further extending their public outreach activities around the world, the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group have designated 20th June every year as the International Horseshoe Crab Day to showcase the collective conservation efforts for the four horseshoe crab species. Since the first International Horseshoe Crab Day in 2020, more than 60 conservation educational activities, including symposia, webinars, public talks, film and video shows, exhibitions, workshops and eco-tours were organized across the geographical range of horseshoe crabs. Information on such activities will be posted on a webpage of the Beibu Gulf University, China (https://lbgmbc.bbgu.edu.cn/gjhbyr.htm). Against All Odds 2023 Booklet

10/18/22

Nominees Announced for World’s Leading Animal Conservation Award

ERDG’s founder and president Glenn Gauvry, is one of 51 global leaders in the field of conservation nominated for the 2023 Indianapolis Prize, the world’s leading award for animal conservation. The 2023 Indianapolis Prize marks nearly two decades of celebrating wildlife’s greatest champions. More

07/17/22

International Horseshoe Crab Conservation and Research Efforts: 2007- 2020 Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs Species Globally

USA: The first International Conference on Horseshoe Crab’s Conservation conducted at Dowling College, USA, (2007) and it’s proceedings published by Springer in 2009, prompted the continued research and conservation efforts presented at subsequent conferences and colloquium in Hong Kong, Taiwan, (2011); San Diego, CA, (2014), (CERF); Japan, Sasebo (2015) and an accepted inclusion for a special session on Horseshoe Crabs at the 2017 CERF Conference held in Providence, RI, USA. All these aforementioned conferences contributed manuscripts, posters, workshop “position papers”, and oral presentations the majority of which have not been published in total. In 2015, Carmichael et al. had published by Springer the majority of manuscripts from the 2011 Hong Kong / Taiwan conference. However, workshop results and all subsequent presentations and workshops were not. The Japan conference presented over 40 papers alone. A collection of all workshop summaries, poster presentations and new manuscript submittals (San Diego, CA; Sasebo, Japan; and Providence, RI) as well as products prepared for the IUCN World Congress in Hawaii, (2016), are included potential contributions for review in this compilation now available for global distribution in this Springer Nature publication.
The “Proceedings of International Conferences on the Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs”, thus contains over 50 manuscripts and a diversified collection of documents, photos and memorabilia covering all four of the horseshoe crab species globally: their biology, ecology evolution, educational, and societal importance. This book exposes the impacts that humans have imposed on all four of these species, revealing through the coordinated effort of horseshoe crab scientists with the IUCN, of the worldwide need for a clear conservative effort to protect these paleo- survival organisms from a looming extinction event. Biologists, conservationists, educators, and health professionals will all welcome this book not only for exploration of its pharmacological interest, but also for the mystery of their longevity. This book also clarifies the future research needs and the conservation agenda for the species worldwide. Anyone working or studying estuaries on a global scale, will need to obtain this seminal work on horseshoe crabs.

05/04/22

Lost Wax for Lost Species

United Kingdom: ERDG is honored to have been included in the Lost-Wax for Lost-Species inititive, that brought together over 100 artists to collectively make a ‘Noah’s Ark’ of endangered species. Each artist worked with natural modelling wax sent around the UK during the global pandemic, and came together through this creative act to raise awareness of endangered species. The sculptures are featured in a growing digital archive alongside information about our endangered kin around the world. An auction was also held, with the proceeds distributed to various wildlife conservation organizations dedicated to the conservation of these species. To learn more about this wonderful initiative and see the the beautiful works of art it inspired, go to Kinstinct Arts.

05/16/21

A Program for Implementing Effective Regional conservation actions for the Asian Horseshoe Crabs

China: Present declines in Asian horseshoe crabs are primarily attributed to overharvesting and habitat loss. The IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group (HCSG) jointly with Beibu Gulf University, China, has established an observation network to bridge explicit baseline gaps in Asian horseshoe crab conservation. Learn More

04/03/21

Help for Asian Horseshoe Crabs Could Start With a Substitute for Their Blood

Asia: There, biomedical companies rent horseshoe crabs to bleed from industrial suppliers, says Glenn Gauvry, president of Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Dover, Delaware. “If they survive, they are sold as food. If they die, they are ground up for fertilizer or Traditional Chinese Medicine,” he says. “The whole animal is used. It’s not going back to the wild.” download the pdf.

12/02/20

Conservation of Asian Horseshoe Crabs on Spotlight

Asia: Unlike the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), whose fishery and harvest are well monitored and managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the conservation of Asian species, i.e., the tri-spine horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus), the coastal horseshoe crab (T. gigas) and the mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda), is a more formidable challenge, due to the intricacies of regional laws and inconsistent enforcement (John et al. 2018). download the pdf.

09/15/20

Improving the Luck of the Horseshoe Crab

Global: In the September issue of Laboratory News, Lonza’s Allen Burgenson and Ecological Research and Development Group Founder and Director Glenn Gauvry give the real story behind the acceptance by the major Pharmacopeia of recombinant Factor C assays for endotoxin testing and horseshoe crab conservation. download the pdf.

08/29/20

Celebrating the life of Dr. Carl N. Shuster, Jr.

Virginia: On May 28, Carl N. Shuster, Jr., Ph.D., renowned “founding father” of horseshoe crab science, died in his Arlington, Virginia home at age 100. read more

05/06/20

ERDG’s Horseshoe Crab Stranding Mitigation Project

Delaware: On May 1st, 2020, for the third year, ERDG in partnership with the community of Pickering Beach and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), installed a 350-foot long temporary barrier across a Northern section of Pickering Beach, so as to prevent spawning horseshoe crabs from becoming stranded in this backwash area. Over the past three years that this program has been in effect, many thousands of horseshoe crabs have been saved. Pickering Beach, Delaware is one of the most productive spawning beaches in the world. This year in keeping with Covid-19 social distancing policies, ERDG’s founder and president Glenn Gauvry and board member Ariane Mueller, over a period of four hours, installed the barrier alone. Next year we look forward to working with our team of volunteers as in years past. Just flip ’em!™ view installation time-lapse

04/14/20

International Horseshoe Crab Day

The members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group, of which ERDG is a founding member, invite you to celebrate International Horseshoe Crab Day with us on June 20th, 2020, by educating your community about the importance of this ancient mariner and its habitat, both marine and terrestrial. Unfortunately, Covid-19 social distancing guidelines prohibit most public gatherings. However, the power of social media to connect voices in celebration from around the world, is only limited by our imagination. Over the next few months, and particularly on June 20th, please share your celebration with us and those within your sphere of influence, via your social media formats of choice. Collectively, we can overcome the indifference that too often surrounds this remarkable living being. Begining the end of April, through June 20th, ERDG will be posting songs, poems, tales and images in celebration of the world’s four horseshoe crab species, that we have worked to protect for over 25 years. Please join us. Invitation English & Chinese

10/05/19

After 450 Million Years, the Chinese Horseshoe Crab is now Endangered

China: The horseshoe crab has been around since before the dinosaurs. Over the past 30 years, numbers in China, home to one of four species of this “living fossil”, have plummeted. One of the main reasons is demand for the animal’s copper-based blood, which is used to make the most sensitive indicator of bacteria ever discovered. In March this year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the Chinese horseshoe crab (also known as the tri-spine horseshoe) as endangered. But few people in China are aware of the plight of this 450-million-year- old creature, and experts are calling for stronger measures to protect it. download the pdf.

10/05/19

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Project Wins Climate Adaptation Award

Delaware: Both the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge and the adjacent community of Prime Hook Beach are part of ERDG’s Backyard Stewardship™ community horseshoe crab sanctuary program. download the pdf.

08/19/19

Blue-Blooded Crabs at Heart of Pharma Dispute on Drug Testing

Zurich: Swiss biotech Lonza and U.S.-based Charles River Laboratories are the biggest suppliers of crab blood-based endotoxin tests, which detect bacterial contamination in intravenous drugs and medical implants. They are now at odds over the future of this testing, as Lonza urges adoption of a synthetic alternative called recombinant Factor C (rFC), amid pressure from wildlife campaigners and worries about supply reliability. Meanwhile, Charles River, which is still studying rFC, argues moving too quickly could compromise patient safety. download the pdf.

07/25/19

Horseshoe Crabs, the Red Knot and a Broken Rung

Delaware: This is a story about horseshoe crabs, but we’re going to start by talking about a bird, the red knot, because that’s what people noticed first. We’ll get to the crabs (they aren’t really crabs) and how they save lives (so many lives!) and what’s happening in Asia (it’s even worse than what’s happening here) and climate change (of course). But first, the bird. download the pdf.

06/26/19

4th International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

China:  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 was held in Sasebo City, Japan, June 15 -19, 2015. On June 15th-20th in Guangxi and Beihai, China, more than 140 scientists, conservationist, corporate representatives, and government officials from 18 countries, attended the 4th International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs, to elevate our collective understanding of the world’s four extant horseshoe crab species, the conservation challenges they face, and how together we can overcome the ignorance and indifference that has for so long hampered efforts to protect these remarkable mariners.

In addition to the presentation of papers and posters on the science and conservation of these species, ample time was set aside for working groups to address a host of conservation challenges from collecting data to complete the IUCN RED list assessment on Tachypleus gigas and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, to reducing the loss of critical spawning and nursery habitat, eliminating the unsustainable harvest for human consumption and bacterial endotoxin test production in Asia, and to develop an effective conservation message that transcends geographic boundaries, governmental malaise, linguistics, social and cultural indifference.

Important accomplishments to come out of this workshop was The Beibu Gulf Declaration on Global Horseshoe Crab Conservation, which represents our collected resolve towards the conservation of the world’s four extant horseshoe crab species by all those in attendance, and includes the establishment of the International Day of the Horseshoe Crab to be celebrated every year on June 20th.

Attached is the workshop abstracts. download the pdf.

05/16/19

ERDG’s Horseshoe Crab Stranding Mitigation Project

Delaware: In late April a partnership between DNREC, the Veterans Conservation Corps and the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) installed a 350-foot wooden temporary storm fence across a stretch of beach to prevent horseshoe crab strandings on one of the most productive spawning beaches in the world. download the pdf.

12/14/18

Young Voices™ Horseshoe Crabs in the Arts 2018

Delaware: Our 2018 contest year received 310 entries from Mauritius, France, and the USA. Our judges selected 10 of the most compelling artworks from each grade level that entered. As always, the task was challenging, for all forms of personal expression are, by their very nature, an honest reflection of the heart within. Since the program’s inception in 1998, the Young Voices that give this program life has grown from a few hundred to many thousands around the world. We celebrate these young environmental stewards, whose compassion for the conservation of this remarkable species, expressed through art, has elevated and transformed our perception of this often-misunderstood marine. To see a complete list of this year’s selected artist. download the pdf.

12/14/18

The ‘Crab’ That Might Have Saved Your Life

Global: Whatever the future holds, the horseshoe crab is perhaps more adept than most species at seeing it through. “Everything it does has a purpose and that purpose is survival,” Glenn Gauvry said. “They’re quite adaptable to an awful lot of things. But we [man] move too fast, so, yeah, we end up being the big challenge.” download the pdf.

10/01/18

Horseshoe Crabs Are at Risk—So Endotoxin Tests Are, Too

With a growing focus on the development of innovative biotherapeutics that have a higher risk of endotoxin contamination and the advent of personalized medicine requiring individual drug testing, endotoxin testing workflows are becoming more important than ever. However, relying purely on the horseshoe crab to provide this crucial safety test simply isn’t sustainable. In this article, we consider why protection of the horseshoe crab is so important for our own health, and how the validation of alternative endotoxin testing approaches offers a more sustainable solution. download the pdf.

09/13/18

Delaware Mayor, Horseshoe Crab Expert Featured on the Award- Winning Podcast Radiolab

Delaware: Horseshoe crabs may not be much to look at, as Little Creek mayor and conservationist Glenn Gauvry noted in a recent episode of the award-winning podcast Radiolab ” Baby Blue Blood Drive.” download the pdf.

07/10/18

Volunteers’ Fence Saves Thousands of Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: According to organizers, a scheme to close off a horseshoe crab “kill zone” on Pickering Beach has been a thumping success. In late April a partnership including DNREC, Pickering Beach residents and the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) — a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on horseshoe crab conservation efforts — installed a 350-foot wooden temporary storm fence across a stretch of beach to prevent deadly horseshoe crab strandings. download the pdf.

06/30/18

Horseshoe Crab “Kill Zone” at Delaware Bay Beach Thwarted by Fencing

Delaware: The Ecological Research & Development Group Inc. (ERDG) worked last spring to eliminate a “kill zone” for horseshoe crabs at a Delaware Bay Beach. As spawning season winds down, the group says its effort was highly successful. download the pdf.

06/04/18

Count Shows Horseshoe Crab Spawning Season Near its Peak

Delaware: Armed with only a clipboard, 20-meter rope and a 1-meter polyvinyl square, three intrepid ladies set out to participate in what’s become one of the most successful citizen science projects in the country late Tuesday night — the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab spawning survey. download the pdf.

05/17/18

Inside the Biomedical Revolution to Save Horseshoe Crabs and the Shorebirds That Need Them

New Jersey: The horseshoe crab plays a vital, if little-known, role in the life of anyone who has received an injectable medication. 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 worked as easily or reliably for this purpose—until now. download the pdf.

05/11/18

4th Global Endotoxin Testing Summit

Maryland: The 4th Global Endotoxin Testing Summit will again bring together the community to explore the most pertinent topics of 2018. Presented by a panel of industry thought-leaders, this year’s summit offers a vivid platform to: download the pdf.

05/02/18

Group Aims to Halt Horseshoe Crab ‘Kill Zone’ at Pickering Beach

Delaware: In recent years, regulations have been tightened on these practices. The changes have resulted in more population stability, but there is more people can do to ease the plight of the 450 million-year-old species says Mr. Gauvry. On Thursday, a collaborative experimental project between ERDG, the Pickering Beach community and DNREC to build a storm fence across an identified “horseshoe crab kill zone” is one such effort. download the pdf.

04/28/18

March of the Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: The horseshoe crab was walking the ocean floor long before the first T-Rex was hatched. In fact, this ungainly arthropod has survived half a billion years. And yet, one of the oldest living species on the planet doesn’t have a week dedicated to it on the Discovery Channel, or its own Facebook page (like Mary Lee, the great white shark). Dismissed by many as ugly and useless, this Rodney Dangerfield of sea creatures often “gets no respect.” download the pdf.

02/23/18

New ‘Living Fossil’ Program at Refuge Highlights Role of Species

Florida: The J.N. “Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge is offering a new program on horseshoe crabs. One of the educational tools for the program that the refuge staff is excited to utilize is the model, developed by the Ecological Research & Development Group in Delaware. The world’s first museum-grade model of a female horseshoe crab, it shows the species’ exterior surfaces complete in detail. The top of the model separates from the bottom of it to reveal the internal organs – colored for easier identification – egg distribution and circulatory system, providing a view never before available. “It greatly enhances the program,” Wettstein said. “It has added so much to it.” The refuge was able to acquire the tool through a donation by a donor. download the pdf.

02/13/18

Annual Report of the IUCN Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group for 2017

Annual Report of the IUCN HSC SSG for 2017, along with an updated membership list. download the pdf.

11/02/17

Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts 2017

Delaware: Our 2017 contest year received 585 entries from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mauritius and the USA. Our judges selected 36 of the most compelling artworks from each grade level that entered. As always, the task was challenging, for all forms of personal expression are, by their very nature, an 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. We celebrate these young environmental stewards, whose compassion for the conservation of this remarkable species, expressed through art, has elevated and transformed our perception of this often-misunderstood marine. To see a complete list of this years selected artist download the pdf.

09/29/17

Delaware’s Marine Animal

Delaware: Horseshoe crab, longtime resident. download the pdf.

09/15/17

Horseshoe Crab’s Blue Blood Saves Lives

Norway: An article about horseshoe crabs, the life saving properties of their blood and the risks they face in Asia from loss of habitat and the unsustainable harvest of the Tachypleus species for human consumption and the production of Tachypleus Amebocyte Lysate (TAL) used by the pharmaceutical /biomedical industry operating in China to detect the presence of endotoxins in injectable drugs and implantable devises, which are life threatening vs Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) used throughout the rest of the world for endotoxin testing and produced from the blood of the Limulus species, whose harvest is regulated. ERDG’s conservation efforts and Just flip ’em!™ program were also mentioned. download the pdf.

08/28/17

The Harvest of the Tachypleus Horseshoe Crab Species for the Production of TAL is Unsustainable

Thailand: August 26, 2017, at the International Conference for the Conservation of Asian Horseshoe Crabs (ICCA-HSC) held in Bangkok, Thailand, ERDG presented its concern about the over harvesting of the Tachypleus species for the production of TAL and the detrimental impact it is having on the Tachypleus population throughout Southeast Asia. In this presentation ERDG invites the pharmaceutical/biomedical industry to join the horseshoe crab conservation community in the conservation of these remarkable Asian species, by eliminating unsustainable endotoxin testing products from their supply chain.  “The Harvest of the Tachypleus Horseshoe Crab Species for the Production of TAL is Unsustainable.”

06/23/17

Lonza’s 3rd Global Endotoxin Testing Summit

Maryland: For the last three years, ERDG’s founder Glenn Gauvry, has had the honor to speak to the attendees of the Global Endotoxin Testing Summit hosted by Lonza in Annapolis Maryland, about the role the pharmaceutical/ biomedical industry can play in the conservation of the world’s four horseshoe crabs species, by using endotoxin detection products that are manufactured in a sustainable manner. download the pdf.

06/12/17

Ninth Annual Horseshoe Crab Blessing and Rescue Dharma Assembly

Delaware: Buddhists from four states come together for the Ninth Annual Horseshoe Crab Blessing and Rescue Dharma Assembly on Pickering Beach, Delaware. download the pdf.

06/11/17

Hamlet Never Met a Horseshoe Crab

New Jersey: To Be or Not to Be, That is the Question. ERDG’s Just flip ’em!™ Program, which began in 1998, is saving lives from Maine to the Yucatan, through a simple act of compassion. download the pdf.

05/19/17

Just flip ’em!™ New Spawning Season – New Logo

Delaware: With the beginning of the new horseshoe crab spawning season, ERDG has given its Just flip ’em!TM logo a facelift. We hope our new design will more easily encourage this simple act of compassion for a species that will not survive our indifference. download the pdf.

03/09/17

Shorebird, Horseshoe Crab Connection Highlighted in Film

Delaware: The Delaware Shorebird Project has premiered “Feast on the Beach: The Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Shorebird Connection,” a film produced to raise awareness and understanding about the ecological connection between horseshoe crabs and shorebirds migrating through the Delaware Bay area, as well as the researchers who study them. ERDG’s Backyard Stewardship™ and Just flip ’em!™ programs are also featured. download the pdf.

02/18/17

Students on a Mission to Save Horseshoe Crabs

Pennsylvania: The Stetson students are participating in an extracurricular activity in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania for a regional STEM competition. As the first students to join the Ecological Research and Development Group’s “Protecting Health” initiative, they will compete in the FIRST LEGO Team Robocolypse, at Penn in November. download the pdf.

01/31/17

Kirk Middle School Student’s Drawing to be Featured in Horseshoe Crab Book

New Jersey: Briana Bradley, a Kirk Middle School student, was recently selected to have her artwork published in a book about horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

01/17/17

Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts 2016

Delaware: Our 2016 contest year received 567 entries from China, Hong Kong, and the USA. Our judges selected 40 of the most compelling artworks from each grade level that entered.  As always, the task was challenging, for all forms of personal expression are, by their very nature, an 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. We celebrate these young environmental stewards, whose compassion for the conservation of this remarkable species, expressed through art, has elevated and transformed our perception of this often-misunderstood marine. download the pdf.

01/15/17

ERDG Launches New Student and Professional Artists Galleries

Delaware: ERDG, who is dedicated to the conservation of the world’s four horseshoe crab species, launches a completely rebuilt “Poems, Tales & Images” section on its award winning website www.horseshoecrab.org. Our new “Poems, Tales & Images” section now comprise two galleries. The first gallery represents student artists selected each year in our Young Voices™, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts competition, since the programs inception in 1998 up to and including our 2016 winners. The second gallery, is for professional artists who have chosen horseshoe crabs as their subject matter.  We hope our professional gallery continues the heart felt expression of our student artists in celebration of this remarkable mariner. download the pdf.

01/14/17

ERDG Launches New Conservation Section

Delaware: This new “Conservation” section is designed to foster communication between governmental organizations (GO’s), non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) and the general public, by providing information on who is doing what and where, as it pertains to horseshoe crab conservation. download the pdf.

12/22/16

G.A. Stetson Middle School’s First Lego League Team “Robocalypse” Wins Regional Championship

Pennsylvania: Robocalypse is the first group of students to partner with the ERDG’s initiative “Protecting Health” to save the world’s four horseshoe crabs species. download the pdf.

07/09/16

Frazier Writes About the Tucked-away Pockets of American Life

New York: Frazier writes about the tucked-away pockets of American life and beyond, including the forgotten or little-known places. His topics include the more than 1,000,000 marginalized homeless in New York City and Charles Manson’s desert hideaway on the Barker ranch in Death Valley. Although Harvard-educated, he has an affinity for the blue- collar and working poor, writing sometimes in the tradition of Studs Terkel and Mark Twain. Frazier is concerned with the questions, not grand summations of providing thinly veiled advocacy through answers. He eschews the perceived wisdom and allows the subject matter to unfold. download the pdf.

06/20/16

Lonza to Continue Sponsoring Horseshoe Crab Conservation Initiatives Through 2016

Delaware: Lonza has announced continued sponsorship throughout 2016 of horseshoe crab conservation initiatives by the Ecological Research &
Development Group (ERDG), based in Delaware (USA). download the pdf.

03/13/16

Coronado High School Freshman Wins International Competition

California: Lacey Brauer, currently a Coronado High School freshman, recently learned that she won an international competition. Last year, her Coronado Middle School 8th grade English teacher Jennifer Landry entered her essay ” A Crab’s Lifetime” in the Ecological Research & Developments Group (ERDG), Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts annual competition. Lacey competed against over 400 students from the U.S., India, Japan and Hong Kong and was among the 31 selected winners. Lacey is currently enrolled in the CoSA DigArts program. A Crab’s Lifetime

03/10/16

Changing Global Perspectives on Horseshoe Crab Biology, Conservation and Management

This book reports significant progress of scientific research on horseshoe crabs, including aspects of evolution, genetics, ecology, population dynamics, general biology and physiology, within the recent 10 years. It also highlights the emerging issues related to world-wide conservation threats, status and needs. The contributions in this book represent part of an ongoing global effort to increase data and concept sharing to support basic research and advance conservation for horseshoe crabs. ERDG is a contributing author and highlighted and/or co-author of several additional papers throughout out the book. The most important of which is Current horseshoe crab harvesting practices cannot support global demand for TAL/LAL: the pharmaceutical and medical device industries’ role in sustainability of horseshoe crabs.

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 

12/15/14

Field Street School Student’s Artwork Featured on Ecological Research & Development Group’s Facebook Page

New Jersey: Last year as a Field Street School first grader, Kaylee Dixon created several pieces of art during a Gifted and Talented Program unit on the endangered horseshoe crabs of New Jersey. She and many of her classmates entered the horseshoe crab art and writing contest sponsored by the Ecological Research & Development Group Inc. of Dover, Delaware. download the pdf.

09/05/14

Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts 2014

Delaware: This year we received 450 entries from four countries, Hong Kong, India, Mexico and the USA. Our judges selected 40 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, an honest reflection of the heart within.  download the pdf.

06/15/14

Takin’ the iCare® Just flip ‘em!® Pledge

Delaware: During todays meeting of the Delaware Alliance of Bay Communities (ABC) held in Bowers Beach, the communities leadership took the iCare®, Just flip ‘em!® pledge to look for horseshoe crabs that are stranded upside down on the beach and Just flip ‘em!®back over and download the pdf.

06/02/14

Celebrating Horseshoe Crabs

New Jersey: Peter attended the 2014 Get Downe Horseshoe Crab Festival on Saturday along the Delaware Bay on Creek Lane and State Avenue in Fortescue. The all-day event celebrated the horseshoe crab and the fifth anniversary since the open public beaches in Fortescue were declared a Community Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary by the Township Committee. It’s the only community-based horseshoe crab sanctuary in New Jersey. download the pdf.

05/31/14

Takin’ the iCare® Just flip ‘em!® Pledge

New Jersey: During the 2014 Get Downe Horseshoe Crab Festival! The all-day event celebrating the horseshoe crab and the fifth anniversary since the open public beaches in Fortescue, New Jersey were declared an ERDG Backyard Stewardship® Community Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary by the Township Committee, residents of Downe Township, New Jersey and surrounding areas took the iCare®, Just flip ‘em!® pledge to look for horseshoe crabs that are stranded upside down on the beach and Just flip ‘em!® back over and …. see more

05/29/14

Takin’ the iCare® Just flip ‘em!® Pledge

Delaware: Students from The Tatnall School (Wilmington, DE) AP Environmental Science and Advanced Chemistry classes took the iCare, Just flip ‘em!® pledge to look for horseshoe crabs that are stranded upside down on the beach and Just flip ‘em!®back over and download the pdf.

05/21/14

Takin’ the iCare Just flip ‘em!® Pledge

Delaware: During the Green Eggs & Sand workshop held last weekend at Delaware’s Aquatic Education Center, attending science teachers from eight state’s took the iCare, Just flip ‘em!® pledge to look for horseshoe crabs that are stranded upside down on the beach and Just flip ‘em!® back over and download the pdf.

05/20/14

Takin’ the iCare Just flip ‘em!® Pledge

Delaware: Students from the Rodney Thompson Middle School, Stafford, VA., attending a four day science field trip at Delaware’s Cape Henlopen youth camp take the iCare, Just flip ‘em!® pledge to look for horseshoe crabs that are stranded upside down on the beach and Just flip ‘em!® back over and download the pdf.

05/20/14

Horseshoe Crab & Shorebird Festival Comes to Milton

Delaware: The 11th Annual Horseshoe Crab & Shorebird Festival will take place in Milton the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 24. Many nonprofits are also participating. New this year is a Friday-night event called Just flip ’em!, organized by the Ecological Research & Development Group, a wildlife conservation organization based in Dover that focuses on horseshoe crab species. The Just flip ’em! program addresses the high mortality among horseshoe crabs that occurs when they are stranded upside down during spawning, leaving them vulnerable to gulls pecking at them. download the pdf.

05/19/14

Takin’ the iCare Just flip ‘em!® Pledge

Delaware: During Beach Stewardship training at the DuPont Nature Center, Milford, DE., attendees take the iCare, Just flip ‘em!® pledge to look for horseshoe crabs that are stranded upside down on the beach and Just flip ‘em!® download the pdf.

04/15/14

Blue Bloods by Ian Frazier

Atlantic Coast: A few years ago, I went on a boat trip to Fire Island with some researchers who were doing a population survey of horseshoe crabs. Soon after I boarded the boat, on a hot spring morning at a slip in Patchogue, I overheard this conversation. download the pdf.

04/02/14

What Animal Has 10 Eyes, Tells Time With Its Tail, Chews With Its Legs And Is 445 Million Years Old?

South Carolina: If you guessed a horseshoe crab you are correct! The American Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) is an amazing creature that can be found in our coastal waters and sometimes on our beaches. download the pdf.

03/27/14

Molloy College Presents: A Horseshoe Crab Celebration

New York: Molloy College presents: A Horseshoe Crab Celebration. Join them for the premiere of National Geographic Wild “Alien Crabs,” participate in workshops held by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group IUCN HSC SSG and the Center for Environmental Research and Coastal Oceans Monitoring CERCOM and more… download the pdf.

03/26/14

Calling all Horseshoe Crab Fans and Admirers!

New Jersey: Mark your calendar for the “Get Downe Horseshoe Crab Festival”, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., held in beautiful Fortescue. download the pdf.

03/22/14

Horseshoe Crabs: Part Spider, Part Medical Wonder and now in Danger

Florida: In matters of love, nothing says romance like a moonlit beach. Especially if you’re a lusty horseshoe crab and the tide is high. Now, with the crabs’ prime mating season in Florida swinging into action this month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is trying enlist help from the public, much in the way it has recruited volunteers to count sea turtles. By reporting on the crabs’ night-time trysts, researchers hope to understand not just their habits, but calculate their numbers. download the pdf.

03/17/14

Get Downe Horseshoe Crab Festival 2014

New Jersey: Join in the fun! Learn about & meet Downe Township’s own ancient mariner in person! May 31, 2014, from 10:00 am to 5 pm. Fortescue, New Jersey is an ERDG Backyard Stewardship® community-based horseshoe crab sanctuary. The first and only community horseshoe crab sanctuary in New Jersey and home to the state’s most productive horseshoe crab spawning beach for the last ten years. download the pdf.

12/10/13

Proposed Listing of the Red Knot as a Threatened Species Under the Endangered Species Act

Delaware Bay: Many of you – particularly those from North America – are aware of the importance of horseshoe crab eggs as food for migratory shorebirds, especially in Delaware Bay.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed that one of these shorebirds, the Red Knot, be listed as a Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act.  Such action could have important implications for the future conservation of American horseshoe crabs.

We attach a copy of our letter to the USFWS, expressing our support for the proposed listing of the Red Knot.  While we support the measure, we do raise several concerns that should be addressed if and when the listing is approved.   download the pdf.
Sincerely,
Mark L. Botton, Ph.D., Co-Chairman (North America)
IUCN Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group
Paul K. S. Shin, Ph.D., Co-Chairman (Southeast Asia)
IUCN Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group

11/22/13

Horseshoe Crabs Tagged for Research Along Atlantic Coast

Delaware: Today, biologists, biomedical companies and commercial harvesters study horseshoe crabs. Everyday people who walk along the beaches can assist researchers by reporting the location of tagged crabs they find – about 2,000 to 3,000 calls are reported annually. download the pdf.

11/14/13

Comparative Approaches to Horseshoe Crab Ecology and Conservation in North America and Southeast Asia

IUCN Horseshoe Crab SSG steering committee members Mark Botton, Paul Shin, Siu Gin Cheung, and Ruth Carmichael organized a Special Session entitled, “Comparative Approaches to Horseshoe Crab Ecology and Conservation in North America and Southeast Asia,” at the recent Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation meeting in San Diego, CA.  A total of 25 papers on horseshoe crabs were presented, with contributions from the U.S., Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Japan.  For titles and abstracts download the pdf.

10/23/13

An Animal-free Alternative Method for Endotoxin Detection

Building on ERDG’s presentation at the International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Asian Horseshoe Crabs in 2011, and ERDG’s focus on gaining the support of the LAL/TAL endotoxin detection industry as horseshoe crab conservation partners, this webiar in partnership with Lonza, was given to a global audience of pharmaceutical and medical device producers. Webinar: PyroGene™ Recombinant Factor C Assay – An Animal-free Method for Endotoxin Detection

09/23/13

Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts 2013

Delaware: Our annual juried arts competition invites students from around the world to submit poems, tales and images in appreciation and celebration of the remarkable horseshoe crab. Through the arts, our future environmental stewards have a voice which is heard globally. This year we received 450 entries from five countries, Japan, Hong Kong, Norway, Mexico and the USA. Our judges selected 35 of the most compelling artwork from each grade level that entered. download the pdf.

09/21/13

Ban On Imports

Delaware: No state, federal or international laws were broken, when a container filled with 2,000 horseshoe crabs harvested in Thailand arrived at a port in New York bound for the bait market in 2011. Thousands more horseshoe crabs, harvested in Vietnam, were imported the following year. download the pdf.

09/08/13

PyroGene™ Recombinant Factor C Assay – An Animal-free Alternative Method for Endotoxin Detection

Maryland: Hear Glenn Gauvry, President of The Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG), discuss the importance of horseshoe crab conservation. The demand on the American and the Asian horseshoe crabs is steadily increasing while the Asian horseshoe crab species population is in decline. download the pdf.

06/12/13

SSC Marine Species Newsletter

The attached newsletter is a product of the IUCN SSC Marine Conservation Sub-Committee (MCSC) and is aimed at the marine members of SSC. It complements the Global Marine and Polar Programme’s annual newsletter, Marine News, and focuses more specifically on species issues. The richness of this newsletter is a testament to the expanding work within IUCN on marine species. download the pdf.

05/25/13

Buddhist Bless Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: Buddhists gather on Pickering Beach, Delaware to conduct a Horseshoe Crab Rescue and Blessing Dharma Assembly. Every year hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs die from being stranded up-side-down on the beaches of the Delaware Bay and along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida as they come ashore to spawn, unable to return to their marine habitat. This ceremony, led by Rinpoche’s from the Dharmadhatu Center of Delaware and the Tathagata Dharma Association of Maryland, together with buddhists from five states, bless these animals, while those attending the ceremony help enable the stranded ones return to the sea. This is the fifth year the Dharmadhatu Center has held such a ceremony in Delaware. Watch Video 3ec7b7150a

05/16/13

Nat Geo Wild Special Showing of “Dino Crabs”

New York: Meet several of the scientists in the show that will be airing on Nat Geo Wild. download the pdf.

04/30/13

Horseshoe Crabs – Things You Might Just Find Interesting

Delaware: The lecture series, “An Evening at the Hook”, continues its 10th anniversary celebration with “Horseshoe Crabs – Things You Might Just Find Interesting” on Thursday, May 9, 2013, at 7:00 PM. Hosted by Glenn Gauvry, Executive Director of Ecological Research & Development Group. download the pdf.

04/29/13

New Jersey Audubon Society Partners with the ERDG to Promote the Just flip ’em!® Program

New Jersey: The New Jersey Audubon will offer beach walks in May designed to educate attendees about simple steps beachgoers can take to promote horseshoe crab conservation along the Delaware Bay. The walks will introduce the Just flip ‘em!® program, begun in 1998 by Delaware-based ERDG, a non-profit wildlife conservation organization whose primary focus is the conservation of the world’s four horseshoe crab species. download the pdf.

04/22/13

Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary Rededication

New Jersey: Downe Township is the first New Jersey community to participate in ERDG’s community-based Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary program, which also includes seven Bayshore communities in Delaware . In 2009, Downe Township voted to set aside a portion of its Delaware Bay shoreline for the celebration and recognition of the importance of this ancient mariner. download the pdf.

02/26/13

Import Ban Sought on Asian Crabs

New York: In another twist in the long-running debate over how to manage the population of horseshoe crabs along the East Coast, fisheries officials are calling for a ban on imports of three Asian species of the ancient arthropods. download the pdf.

02/21/13

Virginia: On February 20, 2013, ERDG in partnership with the IUCN Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group, of which ERDG is a member, made a presentation to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Horseshoe Crab Management Board, with the purpose of gaining support to stop the practice of importing horseshoe crabs from Asia, to be used as bait in the conch fishery.

Following ERDG’s presentation, Marin Hawk ASMFC FMP Coordinator, presented the minutes from the Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee conference call held two weeks ago with Mark L. Botton Ph.D Co-Chair of the IUCN Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group and Glenn Gauvry of ERDG, with the purpose of becoming better informed about the importation problem and to explore potential solutions.

The presentations were followed by discussion, which resulted in three motions being offered and voted upon (see attached). On February 21, 2013 the Policy Board was to meet and pass a resolution to encourage states to ban the practice of importing horseshoe crabs from Asia, which did occur (see attached). download the pdf.

01/12/13

Annual Report of the Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group for 2012

IUCN: We are pleased to provide you with this annual update of the Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group.  Although in existence for less than one year, the Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group is making significant progress toward the goal of updating the Red List status for horseshoe crabs, particularly the three Southeast Asian species that are currently regarded as “data deficient.” A current membership listing for the SSG is included with this document. download the pdf.

07/12/12

Stranded Horseshoe Crabs Helped by a Norwegian Youth

Norway: A few weeks ago, Kristian Fjeld and his grandmother Gry Handberg, traveled from Elverum, Norway, for the sole purpose of seeing horseshoe crabs spawn on Pickering Beach, Delaware. However, the journey started two years ago, when Kristian became interested in living fossils and discovered the horseshoe crab. Working with the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) an international nonprofit organization headquartered in Delaware, with a mission to protect and conserve the world’s four horseshoe crab species, Kristian deepened his interest and desire to see this remarkable mariner. This interest, nurtured by his grandmother Gry, ultimately lead to the decision to visit the shores where this creature spawns in numbers not seen anywhere else in the world, the Delaware Bay. During Kristian’s visit he helped hundreds of stranded horseshoe crabs as part of ERDG’s Just flip ’em!™ program, and as a result, may hold Norway’s record for having rescued the most stranded horseshoe crabs. This fall, Kristian will start junior high school in Elverum.  He has already decided what he will study in the future, marine biology. The attached article from the local Elverum newspaper Ostlendingen, although in Norwegian, is in celebration of this remarkable young man, his loving grandmother, and a journey that took them halfway across the world. The picture speak for themselves. download the pdf.

07/03/12

Orgy? Tough Life For Blue-blooded Horseshoe Crab

Delaware Bay: This was no Saturday night Cinemax movie set – nor, for that matter, some kind of weird Invasion-of-the-Body-Snatchers-meets-Caligula mash-up. This was horseshoe crab mating season, and the same scene has been unfolding – as it did many evenings in May and June – in Delaware Bay for likely as long as the bay has existed in its present form, perhaps the last 5,000 years or so. download the pdf.

06/15/12

Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs & the Arts

New Jersey: ERDG’s Young Voices, Horseshoe Crabs & the Arts exhibition will be on display Saturday, June 16th – 23rd at the Perkins Center for the Arts, in Collingswood, NJ. Following the Perkins showing, the artwork will travel to the Cape May Nature Center in Cape May, NJ.

06/02/12

Hundreds Pray for Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: More than 250 Buddhists recently gathered on a windy Slaughter Beach to bless horseshoe crabs in the midst of crab-mating season in the Delaware Bay. download the pdf.

06/02/12

250 Buddhist From Five States and Three Cultures Meet on Slaughter Beach, Delaware

Delaware: Every spring, these ancient animals come ashore to spawn and are often turned over on their backs by the surf and unable to upright themselves, and subsequently die. Glenn Gauvry, founder of ERDG aka Sangjie Tieba Rinpoche, led over 250 Buddhist from dharma centers and temples in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia as well as local non-Buddhist in a ceremony, on Slaughter Beach, Delaware, to bless these living beings and dedicate the merit of their actions to all living beings who are suffering throughout the world. After the ceremony, participants walked the shoreline to help those horseshoe crabs that were stranded on the shore, return to their marine habitat. http://www.dharmadhatu-center.org/fourth-annual-horseshoe/

04/20/12

Horseshoe Crab Biography of a Survivor

USA: In his new book Horseshoe Crab: Biography of a Survivor, acclaimed science writer Anthony D. Fredericks travels from the Delaware Bay to the Florida Pan handle on a quest through the natural history and science behind one of nature’s oldest  and oddest survivors. He explores horseshoe crabs’ unique biology and sex life, explains their importance to medical science  and to migratory shorebirds, and introduces readers to the people who are working to study and protect them. Horseshoe Crab includes a foreword by Glenn Gauvry, founder of the horseshoe crab preservation organization ERDG, who says, http://www.rukapress.com/books/horseshoe-crab

04/16/12

Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms

Delaware: Richard Fortey’s “Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms” begins, as all serious books of science should,at an orgy. Specifically, the author is observing the nighttime mating ritual of thousands of clacking horseshoe crabs in spring along the Delaware coast. “I am there,” he writes, “with my notebook and a fluttering heart.” download the pdf.

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

09/03/10

Downe Township Becomes an ERDG Community Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary

New Jersey: Downe Township is the first community in New Jersey to set aside a portion of its Delaware Bay shoreline for the celebration and recognition of the importance of this ancient mariner. download the pdf.

08/14/10

Nature Center Invites Artists, Author for Marine Conservation Day

New Jersey: The Ecological Research and Development Group’s “Young Voices 2010, Horseshoe Crabs in the Arts” exhibition continues in the center’s Todd building, featuring youthful renderings of the horseshoe crab from around the world.  download the pdf.

08/10/10

Professor Harry Whittington Dies at 94

United Kingdom: Professor Harry Whittington, who died on June 20 aged 94, was the former Woodwardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge and the world’s leading authority on fossil trilobites; in later life he led painstaking research which revealed a “Cambrian explosion” and raised disturbing questions about the processes of evolution. download the pdf.

06/15/10

Horseshoe Crab Migration Numbers Appear to be Rising

Delaware: Migrating shorebirds discovered more horseshoe crab eggs on the beach this year than they have in many years, and it’s also good news for horseshoe crabs, whose numbers are increasing in Delaware waters. download the pdf.

06/13/10

Buddhists Pray for Delaware’s Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: Ceremonial robes billowed in the breeze as about 70 Buddhists from Canada to North Carolina, gathered in this tiny waterfront village on Saturday to pray for the humble horseshoe crab. download the pdf.

06/07/10

Running For a Cause

Delaware: As she jogs the beach, Karen Allwood flips stranded crabs. download the pdf.

02/22/10

Leonard I. Rippa “Len” Dies at 82

Delaware: Leonard I. Rippa “Len” 82, of Smyrna, Delaware passed away February 22nd, 2010. Len served on the Executive Board of the Ecological Research and Development Group (ERDG) since its inception in 1995. His compassion and wisdom will be greatly missed. download 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.

12/11/08

Winter 2008 Newsletter

Happy Holiday’s to all our members and supporters. We hope this newsletter finds you well. It’s been a good year for the North American horseshoe crab population and our efforts to protect them. Building community is what we do, and it has been a busy year. Our Winter 2008 Newsletter will give you some of the highlights. Download the pdf.

11/20/08

Local Young Artist Pictures on Exhibit in China and Japan

New Jersey: What if your child’s painting wasn’t just brought home to be placed on the refrigerator door, but hung on a wall in a museum? Or if the painting went on to be displayed in other museums in other countries?  Download the pdf.

11/19/08

Film Screening: U.S. Premiere of Witness to Hiroshima

Maryland: Documentary Short “Witness to Hiroshima” directed by Kathy Sloane and co-produced by Michele Mason and Kathy Sloane, had its United States premiere at the International Film Series ” War & Cinema”, held at the University of Maryland, Hoff Theater. Read more »

10/29/08

LAL Users Group Newsletter

Glenn Gauvry, President of the Ecological Research & Development Group, who discusses the importance of conservation of Limulus and other horseshoe crab species, provides the feature article. Download the pdf.

09/04/08

He Speaks For The Horseshoe Crab

Delaware: Glenn Gauvry can give new meaning to your next walk along a Delaware beach. For more than a decade, he has been educating Delawareans and others about the plight of a familiar face on Delaware beaches: The horseshoe crab. Download the pdf.

06/27/08

Oldest Creature on The Planet For Sale

India: Known as the “living fossil” the neglected horseshoe crab is the latest to join the long list of ”endangered species.” Considered an important organism for its medicinal value in pharmaceutical, clinical and food industries, the Indian horseshoe crab is also useful as an indicator of the health of the coastal zone. Download the pdf.

05/21/08

Full Moon and Empty Beaches: Horseshoe Crabs a No-Show

New Jersey: The full-moon tide Monday night flooded the Delaware bayshore, heralding an annual natural phenomenon – the spawning of horseshoe crabs. But as the tide receded Tuesday on the rainy, windswept Reeds Beach, not one of the prehistoric-looking crabs could be found. Download the pdf.

04/04/08

The Eco-Activists

Delaware: When a major industrial polluter violates its permits, when thousands of fish wash ashore, when a highway proposal threatens the tranquility of the area, these are the people who look out for the rest of us. Download the pdf.

02/01/08

Limulus Lately

Harvest caps appear to be doing the trick for Limulus polyphemus, aka the horseshoe crab, prized by shorebirds for its nutritious eggs and by humans for its unique and valuable blue blood. Download the pdf.

01/22/08

Local Students Become Published Artists

New Jersey: West Cape May Students’ Art Work was published in The Ecological Research & Development Group’s annual anthology, “Horseshoe Crabs & the Arts.” Download the pdf.

01/22/08

Sides Differ on Using Horseshoe Crabs as Bait

Delaware: With New Jersey poised to extend its ban on taking horseshoe crabs for fishing bait, commercial fishing advocates are arguing that a limited harvest of only male crabs — similar to a crabbing season upheld last year by a Delaware state court — can be allowed without further endangering red knots, migratory shorebirds that feed on crab eggs along Delaware Bay. Download the pdf.

07/16/07

Horseshoe Crabs Win Big at Prime Hook Beach

Delaware: Residents at Prime Hook beach have banded together to create a community-based horseshoe crab sanctuary. Download the pdf.

06/15/07

Crabs Get a Visit From Afar

Delaware: The ancient horseshoe crab brought international visitors to its spawning grounds on the Delaware Bay last weekend. Download the pdf.

06/06/07

Making Peace with a Pest

Delaware: Which critter, man or horseshoe crab, is the real problem? Download the pdf.

01/11/07

1st International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

New York: 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 has culminated in the 1st International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs, to be held at Dowling College, Oakdale, New York, USA, on June 11-14, 2007.  learn more 

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.

07/01/05

Mispillion Inlet a Nexus of Concern

Delaware: Jobs, birds, crabs,homeland defense and the quality of life in a quaint bayside town. Many things depend upon the jetty at the mouth of the Mispillion River, but the jetty is crumbling and help does not appear to be coming soon. Download the pdf.

07/01/05

Slaughter Beach, Delaware Becomes ERDG’s Forth Community Based Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary

Delaware: Here they come. In about two weeks, hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs will return to Slaughter Beach.

06/29/05

Trailing the Ancient Mariner

Delaware: He may not be a beautiful swimmer — or at first glance,beautiful at all — but the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, becomes more remarkable the more you learn about him. Download the pdf.

06/13/04

It’s Time to Learn What is Really Going on Out There

Delaware: A few Delaware Estuary Program (DELEP) Public Participation Implementation Team (PPIT) members, and a group of students and their chaperones from the Wilmington Montessori School, met with Glenn Gauvry, a horseshoe crab expert from the Ecological Research and Development Group. We were there to witness the once-a-year spawning activity of these amazing creatures.  Download the pdf.

03/19/04

ERDG Cancels Plans to Build This Nations First Horseshoe Crab Research Institute®

Delaware: ERDG believes the most effective way for the organization to support the town of Milton, Delaware and its revitalization goals, is to relinquish its current Union Street project site. With this focus in mind, on March 15th, 2004, ERDG sold the Union Street property to Mary and Frank Presta of Clifton, Virginia. download the pdf.

03/03/04

Alternative Gear and Supplemental Bait Workshop, Summary

A workshop to discuss the use of horseshoe crabs as bait was held outside of Baltimore on February 11th and 12th. It was sponsored by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), Ecological Research and Development Group (ERDG), New Jersey, Delaware, and University of Delaware Sea Grant. Below is a summary of that workshop. Download the pdf.

10/03/03

Local Heroes: Meet 10 People Who Are Saving The Planet

OnEarth magazine features Glenn Gauvry and ERDG: The decidedly uncuddly horseshoe crab doesn’t seem like the sort of creature that would arouse anyone’s passions, but 53-year-old Glenn Gauvry admits that he’s smitten. “I absolutely fell in love with this crab, an animal that had no other human advocate,” he says. Download the pdf.

07/18/03

Trading Balloons For Crabs

Delaware: The skies over Milton are a great place for snow geese. But for Doc Wagner, who is as persistent as they come, the skies proved too fluky for his beloved hot air balloons. He threw in the towel this year on the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival. People around Milton wondered what might come along to take its place.

Read more »

07/15/03

Kitts Hummock Forms Sanctuary For Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: Melaine Morford of Kitts Hummock walks down the shoreline in sand-dyed canvas sneakers. She’s
hunting for live horseshoe crabs to flip right side-up. It’s less than an hour before high tide and already hundreds of the hard-shelled creatures are congregating to spawn. Download the pdf.

06/28/03

Ancient Mariner

Delaware: While numerous conservation groups have an interest in horseshoe crabs,these creatures are the raison d´etre of the Ecological Research & Development Group. Download the pdf.

06/23/02

Delaware: A Delaware man’s work to preserve horseshoe crabs, a species so ancient it’s called a “living fossil;” a conch fisherman’s help in the cause; and medical research’s need for horseshoe crabs’ blue blood. In late spring each year, beaches along the Atlantic coast play host to some of the strangest-looking creatures in the world: horseshoe crabs, swimming in from deeper waters for their annual spawning. Despite their skewer-like tails and alarming-looking claws, horseshoe crabs are harmless and their eggs are vital food for millions of shorebirds flying north for the summer.

05/03/02

The Struggle To Save a ‘Living Fossil’

Delaware: During the next few weeks, beaches on America’s Atlantic coast will play host to some of the strangest-looking creatures in the world, horseshoe crabs, which are swimming in from deeper waters for their annual spawning. Despite their skewer-like tails and alarming-looking claws,horseshoe crabs are harmless and their eggs are vital food for millions of shorebirds flying north for the summer. Carolyn Weaver visited the mid-Atlantic coast of Delaware to find out more about the animals that have been called “living fossils.” Download the pdf.

02/25/02

NOAA Fisheries Awards $10,000 Grant to Continue Horseshoe Crab Conservation

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service has awarded a $10,000 grant to Ecological Research and Development Group, a Delaware-based horseshoe crab conservation organization. The conservation group will use the funds to continue saving thousands of horseshoe crabs by providing a no-cost way for mid-Atlantic conch and whelk fishermen to use fewer of the prehistoric anthropods as bait. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department. Read more »

09/05/01

horseshoecrab.org Wins Award

On September 5th, 2001, the Ecological Research & Development Group Inc. received the Exploratorium’s “Ten Cool Sites Award” for September 2001 for educational excellence.

07/30/01

ERDG completes Phase II of its bait bag initiative

Building on last year’s success in reducing Virginia’s annual harvest of horseshoe crabs for bait in the conch fishery by over 355,000 animals. ERDG formed a partnership with Kent-Sussex Industries of Delaware to manufacture and distribute over 6,000 bait bags free of charge, to conch fishermen in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service, State agencies and others made this possible. Read more »

04/13/01

Delaware’s Governor Ruth Ann Minner Says: “ERDG Should be Commended”

Delaware: ERDG has sought and obtained funding for an initiative to greatly reduce the number of horseshoe crabs used as conch and eel bait.  One of, if not the most, critical reasons for the decline in the horseshoe crab population are over harvesting by fishermen. Governor Ruth Ann Minner stated, “ERDG is to be commended for working on solutions to this issue.” download the pdf.

09/28/00

Excellence in the Estuary Award

Delaware: On September 28, 2000 the Ecological Research & Development Group Inc. received the “Excellence in the Estuary Award” from the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Inc. “for their tireless work to protect the Delaware Estuary’s horseshoe crab population.” The awards were established to recognize organizations, agencies and individuals doing outstanding work to protect, enhance, and sustain the Delaware Estuary.

09/01/00

Horseshoe Crab Bait Bags are adopted by the Virginia Conch Fishery

Virginia: In October of last year, at an alternative bait workshop hosted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), ERDG offered to manufacture and distribute a particular type of bait bag being successfully used by Frank Eicherly IV a Milford, Delaware, conch fisherman. Read more »

08/08/00

U. S. Secretary of Commerce Announces Plans to Establish Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Preserve

Delaware Bay: As a result of his earlier efforts to protect horseshoe crabs, Governor Thomas R. Carper today received word from the United States Department of Commerce that a horseshoe crab moratorium will be in place by late October. At an event along Delaware Bay in Cape Henlopen State Park, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Norman Y. Mineta reported that efforts are underway to establish a horseshoe crab preserve by October 30.  The planned federal preserve, part of a state/federal program, will provide additional protection for local horseshoe crabs by prohibiting their harvest in a prime spawning area. download the pdf.

08/08/00

U. S. Secretary of Commerce announces plans to establish Delaware Bay horseshoe crab preserve

— Carper applauds federal response to protect 350-million-year-old species — Read more »

06/13/00

Carper calls for horseshoe crab preservation and awards regional contest winners

Broadkill Beach on the verge of becoming official horseshoe crab sanctuary Read more »

05/31/00

Broadkill Beach Delaware Becomes a Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary

The Ecological Research & Development Group Inc., in partnership with the Broadkill Beach Preservation Association and the residents of Broadkill Beach, Delaware, designated 2.5 miles of this communities 3.8 miles of beach as a horseshoe crab sanctuary. Read more »

05/19/00

ERDG Volunteers Assist in Y2K Shorebird Management Study at Prime Hook NWR

The USFWS, Region 5 Division of Refuges and Wildlife is undertaking a cooperative study with the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center to help identify the contribution and management potential for migrating shorebirds on several National Wildlife Refuges along or near the Delaware Bay and coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Read more »

03/01/00

ERDG Plans to Build the Nations First Horseshoe Crab Research Institute® (HCRI) in Milton, Delaware

Delaware: The site is on the shore of the Broadkill River located between, Union Street, the main road in town, and the eastern boundary of Lake Wagamons waterfall and natural marsh. The Town of Milton is 15 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. The program is for a private institution for environmental development studies and specifically horseshoe crab research and conservation. A museum to educate the public on the paleontology, anatomy and natural history of the world’s four horseshoe crab species is included in the program. download the pdf.

10/28/99

Oil Spill Response Contingency Planning

Delaware: ERDG has helped wildlife rehabilitators, industry, and state and federal agencies develop response equipment, processes, and protocols to prevent or mitigate impact to wildlife from oil spills. Our years of experience in oiled wildlife incident response, research, and development are particularly relevant to our horseshoe crab shorebird conservation initiatives. Many of the world’s remaining horseshoe crab spawning sites and migratory shorebird stop-overs are vulnerable to the effects of oil contamination.

The Delaware Bay, the second-largest oil-shipping channel in the United States, is home to the world’s largest concentration of horseshoe crabs. The Bay is also a vital rest and refueling stop for hundreds of thousands of migrating North American shorebirds. The effects of an oil spill in this body of water during spring shorebird migration and horseshoe crab spawning could be devastating.

In 1999, ERDG introduced governmental agencies responsible for oil spill contingency planning in the mid-Atlantic region to the importance of developing protocols to protect or mitigate damage to the Atlantic horseshoe crab species, Limulus polyphemus. Now in place, these plans complement existing protocols designed to protect migrating shorebirds in the Delaware Bay.

10/19/99

ERDG Completes Phase I of its Bait Bag Initiative

Bait Bags and Alternative Bait

Earlier this month, at an alternative bait workshop hosted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), ERDG offered to manufacture and distribute a particular type of bait bag being successfully used by Frank Eicherly IV a Milford, Delaware, conch fisherman. Conch fishermen indicate that the use of bait bags could reduce the demand for horseshoe crabs for bait by as much as 50 percent. Read more »

10/05/99

Alternative Bait Workshop (Minutes )

The Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG), offers to manufacture and distribute a particular type of bait bag being successfully used by Frank Eicherly IV a Milford, Delaware, conch fisherman. Download the pdf.

06/18/99

ERDG’s Just flip ’em! Horseshoe Crab Conservation Program

Delaware: The Ecological Research & Development Group of Milton, Delaware launched a successful Just flip ‘em! Horseshoe crab conservation program last year to bring attention to the high mortality from horseshoe crab strandings and to encourage individual support for the preservation of these ancient mariners. download the pdf.