Horseshoe Crab Board Approves Draft Addendum for Public Comment
Addendum Considers Additional Harvest Reductions
The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved releasing Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Horseshoe Crab for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes a number of options to reduce or eliminate harvest of horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin.
The Draft Addendum responds to public concern regarding the horseshoe crab populations and their ecological role in the Delaware Bay. While there are a number of scientific reviews on the status of horseshoe crabs, there is no peer-reviewed coastwide estimate of horseshoe crab abundance. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Shorebird Technical Committee has indicated that the red knot, one of many shorebird species that feed upon horseshoe crab eggs, is at low population levels. Red knots have shown no sign of recovery, despite a four-fold reduction in horseshoe crab landings since 1998. The Shorebird Technical Committee concluded a moratorium of horseshoe crab harvest could provide more eggs for the birds to feed upon. The Board initiated the addendum process to evaluate further restrictions on crab harvest in the Delaware Bay region. The area is considered the epicenter of horseshoe crab production along the coast as well as a critical stopover area for many migratory shorebirds including the red knot.
States will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum throughout March and early April. Information on those hearings will be released once it is available. The Management Board will meet in May 2006 to review public comment, select the management measures to be contained in the Addendum, and consider its final approval. Copies of the Draft Addendum will be available by mid-March via the Commission’s website at
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Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tb*****@as***.org
www.asmfc.org
Horseshoe Crab Board Approves Draft Addendum for Public Comment
Addendum Considers Additional Harvest Reductions
The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved releasing Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Horseshoe Crab for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes a number of options to reduce or eliminate harvest of horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin.
The Draft Addendum responds to public concern regarding the horseshoe crab populations and their ecological role in the Delaware Bay. While there are a number of scientific reviews on the status of horseshoe crabs, there is no peer-reviewed coastwide estimate of horseshoe crab abundance. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Shorebird Technical Committee has indicated that the red knot, one of many shorebird species that feed upon horseshoe crab eggs, is at low population levels. Red knots have shown no sign of recovery, despite a four-fold reduction in horseshoe crab landings since 1998. The Shorebird Technical Committee concluded a moratorium of horseshoe crab harvest could provide more eggs for the birds to feed upon. The Board initiated the addendum process to evaluate further restrictions on crab harvest in the Delaware Bay region. The area is considered the epicenter of horseshoe crab production along the coast as well as a critical stopover area for many migratory shorebirds including the red knot.
States will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum throughout March and early April. Information on those hearings will be released once it is available. The Management Board will meet in May 2006 to review public comment, select the management measures to be contained in the Addendum, and consider its final approval. Copies of the Draft Addendum will be available by mid-March via the Commission’s website at
*************************
Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email:
www.asmfc.org