The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the federal government for failing to protect American horseshoe crabs under the Endangered Species Act.
Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center, says since 2000, horseshoe crab populations have crashed by more than 70% across their range from Maine to Louisiana.
"And the main reason their numbers have crashed is because of overharvest," Harlan said. "They've been decimated by both the bait and most recently, the blood harvest. That's when horseshoe crabs are taken and drained of their blood because that blood is useful in drug safety testing."
The state of Maine considers the species at-risk due to development, wastewater effluent, and both unintentional catch and small scale harvesting. While their numbers have historically been relatively small in the state, Harlan said that's changing due to climate change.
"Horseshoe crabs are now moving further north. And that population is becoming increasingly important because of both the horseshoe crabs themselves, but also the red knots and other migratory shorebirds that depend on horseshoe crab eggs on their journeys to the Arctic," he said.
The Center is among more than two dozen organizations that petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service in February of 2024 to protect horseshoe crabs. Harlan said the process for listing a species under the Endangered Species Act is supposed to take less than two years, but now the average length of time is 10 to 12 years. He said horseshoe crabs can't wait a decade for protection.
