A petition was filed with NOAA Fisheries to protect horseshoe crabs under the federal endangered species act.
The Center for Biological Diversity, along with 22 other environmental groups, filed the petition on Monday, saying horseshoe crab populations have crashed in recent decades because of overharvesting and habitat loss.
Horseshoe crabs are brown, body-armored arthropods with 10 eyes and a long, spiked tail; they are common in our area, but not as common as they used to be.
The state of Florida holds an annual survey of mating horseshoe crabs to monitor their numbers.
Horseshoe crabs Horseshoe crabs are an important part of the marine ecosystem – they have been around for nearly 450 million years.
Their eggs are a food source for animals and birds.
Horseshoe crabs are harvested for use as bait by the commercial whelk and eel fisheries.
Even though horseshoe crab populations have fallen to historic lows, regulators have increased horseshoe crab harvest quotas.
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.
The petition filed this week says that the continued reliance on horseshoe crab blood by pharmaceutical manufacturers has led to a rapid decrease in the population of this important species even though there are non-animal alternatives that can replace the use of horseshoe crab blood.
The Center for Biological Diversity, along with 22 other environmental groups, filed the petition on Monday, saying horseshoe crab populations have crashed in recent decades because of overharvesting and habitat loss.
Horseshoe crabs are brown, body-armored arthropods with 10 eyes and a long, spiked tail; they are common in our area, but not as common as they used to be.
The state of Florida holds an annual survey of mating horseshoe crabs to monitor their numbers.
Horseshoe crabs Horseshoe crabs are an important part of the marine ecosystem – they have been around for nearly 450 million years.
Their eggs are a food source for animals and birds.
Horseshoe crabs are harvested for use as bait by the commercial whelk and eel fisheries.
Even though horseshoe crab populations have fallen to historic lows, regulators have increased horseshoe crab harvest quotas.
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.
The petition filed this week says that the continued reliance on horseshoe crab blood by pharmaceutical manufacturers has led to a rapid decrease in the population of this important species even though there are non-animal alternatives that can replace the use of horseshoe crab blood.
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