Spring is approaching and that means it is peak mating season for horseshoe crabs and the state is looking for coastal residents to help them monitor horseshoe crab mating activities

Spring is approaching and that means it is peak mating season for horseshoe crabs and the state is looking for coastal residents to help them monitor horseshoe crab mating activities.

Horseshoe crabs mate year-round, but March and April is the peak time to see them in groups along the shore.

Horseshoe crabs are an important part of the marine ecosystem.

Their eggs are a food source for animals and birds.

Horseshoe crabs have also proved valuable to human medicine.

Pharmaceutical companies use horseshoe crab blood to ensure intravenous drugs and vaccine injections are bacteria-free and sterile.

Scientists are also using horseshoe crabs in cancer research.

Horseshoe crabs have been around for nearly 450 million years, but their populations have been dwindling because of overfishing and habitat loss.

In 2002 the Florida Marine Research Institute started a statewide survey for nesting beaches where horseshoe crabs mate.

Since then the state has received over 3500 reports of horseshoe crab mating activities – many from Franklin County which turns out to be a popular place for horseshoe crab romance.

Beachgoers usually have the best luck spotting horseshoe crabs around high tide, within three days of a new or full moon.

To make a report – just go on-line to MyFWC.com and fill out the online survey or report findings by e-mail at horseshoe@MYFWC.com.

And beginning this year you can also report horseshoe crab sightings through the FWC Reporter app which can be downloaded on Apple or Android smartphones or tablets.


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