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Horseshoe Crab Moratorium
We have great news to share with our NJ Audubon activists. After the NJ Marine Fisheries vetoed the proposed NJDEP horseshoe crab harvest moratorium rules, legislators have taken action by introducing legislation to ban the harvest of horseshoe crabs in NJ. This action will help ensure the continued survival of Red Knots and other shorebirds from extinction. Red Knots need your help once again. Please urge your legislators to co-sponsor the moratorium legislation (A2260/S1331) and ensuring it gets passed into law before the legislators go on recess on March 17th. We are facing a tight timeline, but with your help we can help ensure horseshoe crab harvest is banned before the season opens in April.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , I am writing to ask for your help to save the Red Knot from extinction by supporting legislation to ban the harvest of horseshoe crabs in New Jersey. Specifically, I urge you to co-sponsor A2260/S1331 and ensure its passage into law before the legislature goes on recess on March 17. The moratorium needs to last until the Delaware Bay shorebird populations and spawning horseshoe crabs have fully recovered. The legislation is needed for the following reasons: 1) Due to the overharvest of horseshoe crabs, the Red Knot, a robin-sized shorebird, is facing extinction and two other shorebirds, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones, are facing significant declines. 2) Shorebirds rely on a superabundance of adult spawning horseshoe crabs to produce sufficient crab eggs for foraging shorebirds. 3) This legislation is needed since the NJ Marine Fisheries Council vetoed NJDEP horseshoe crab moratorium regulations. The NJ Marine Fisheries Council decision runs counter to the science and sets the Red Knot on a course towards extinction. 4) The NJ Marine Fisheries Council vote shows that the council majority consists of commercial industry representatives and not the public interest. New Jerseyans and future generations deserve and demand conservation of our natural heritage! We also appreciate the support of recreation angler representatives on the Council. 5) The Delaware Bay, our Serengeti, is one of the top four most important shorebird stopover sites in the world. We must be responsible stewards for this gem! 6) Wildlife watchers visiting the Delaware Bay to view shorebirds and horseshoe crabs contribute up to $34 million per year to the local NJ economy. Extinction is forever, so I hope that I can count on your support to save our natural heritage for our children's future. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely, |
Campaign Launched: |
| Background Information |
On February 11, 2008 by a vote of 5 (commercial fisheries special interest members) to 4 (recreational fishing members), the NJ Marine Fisheries Council rejected the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s proposed moratorium on the harvest of horseshoe crabs, setting the Red Knot on a path to extinction. Red Knots, a robin-sized shorebird, come to the Delaware Bay each spring after flying non-stop from Brazil. Knots rely on a superabundance of excess horseshoe crab eggs to nearly double their body weight in less than 2 weeks, before flying non-stop to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.
Due to the reckless overharvest of horseshoe crabs and a subsequent rapid decline of their eggs, the Red Knot population has plummeted from over 100,000 to only 14,800 currently wintering in Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America. According to over 30 scientists on 4 continents, the Red Knots are facing the imminent risk of extinction. Three other shorebirds, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, and Sanderling, are facing similar declines.
