RARITAN BAY HORSESHOE CRABS NEEDS PROTECTION TOO!

All too often, our society does not value something until it is gone.

Thus, why can’t we value and show some respect to one of the most gentle and oldest known species in our local bay waters of Monmouth and Middlesex counties – the horseshoe crab. Sometimes referred to by its scientific name - Limulus polyphemus.

The month of May begins the spawning season for horseshoe crabs in the Bayshore region. From Sandy Hook to South Amboy you will be able to see numerous horseshoe crabs swimming up to our lovely calm beaches to spawn. An activity they have been going on for millions of years.

Yet, currently there is virtually no protection for the horseshoe crab in either Raritan or Sandy Hook bays. Many local people in the Bayshore region including myself are concerned for the future well-being of Limulus.

Although in the last several years a number of states along the east coast have passed laws regulating the harvest of horseshoe crabs, New Jersey’s most stringent laws really only pertain to Delaware Bay.

With all the restrictions and regulations on harvesting horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay, fisherman along the Atlantic Coast will perhaps start to travel northward to the shores of Raritan Bay to conduct their annual harvest of Limulus during the spring spawning season.

The University of Delaware states that most of the horseshoe crab population on the East Coast can be found in the shallow waters of Delaware Bay. Yet, this does not mean we should overlook and ignore our horseshoe crabs in other parts of New Jersey.

As a species, there is no doubt that the horseshoe crab has economic and ecological importance. Limulus has been used for decades as an important tool in biomedical research. Much of what we know about the operation of our eyes has been from the outcome of studies on horseshoe crabs.

The horseshoe crab is also used by many fisherman in New Jersey and nearby states as bait in the eel and whelk fisheries and by farmers for fertilizer and occasionally as food for livestock and poultry. Every year, over 100,000 horseshoe crabs are harvested from New Jersey waters.

Limulus’ green eggs are the primary food source for migratory shorebirds in the spring. Red knots, ruddy turnstones, and sanderlings fly thousands of miles along the eastern flyway starting from Central or South America to arrive in their distant breeding grounds nearly half a world away in a thawing tundra environment of northern Canada and Alaska. For two weeks in-between this incredible winged migration, these birds stopover in New Jersey bays to feed and gain energy on the little green eggs of the horseshoe crab. Hence, devastate the horseshoe crab population and you endanger thousands of migratory birds.

Horseshoe crabs have been around on this planet longer than the dinosaurs. They are virtually the same critter today as they were more than 350 million years ago.

The hardy horseshoe crab can survive many activities that would kill you or me. Limulus can go a whole year without eating, can survive bouts of radiation that would kill a human, and can endure radical changes in temperature and salinity.

It seems, however, that the horseshoe crab cannot withstand destructive human activities, such as coastal development that destroys their spawning habitat and commercial over-harvesting that contributes to their decline.

If towns and communities in the Bayshore region are truly serious about protecting our local environment, then we need to be more determined in the preservation of our horseshoe crab population. Everything is connected in the environment. A decline in horseshoe crabs will result in a weaken coastal ecosystem and a decreasing population of beautiful migratory birds, sea turtles, fish, and other species that depend on their eggs.

Therefore, we need to urge the State of New Jersey to make the horseshoe crab population in Raritan and Sandy Hook bays a research priority. We need more and better information to properly manage this important natural resource. Questions that need to be answered include:

• How many horseshoe crabs are there in the Bayshore?
• Where are the horseshoe crabs spawning?
• What is the quality of their spawning habitat?
• How will current beach replenishment projects in the Bayshore affect horseshoe crab spawning habitat.

In addition to research, we also need to increase the amount of public education about horseshoe crabs in the Bayshore region. We need to educate local residents, schoolchildren, and tourists about horseshoe crabs. It would be a shame if a critter that has survived for over 350 million became extinct in the near future.