Horseshoe Crab Management.pdf

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) was formed in 1942 to promote and protect coastal fishery resources. The Commission coordinates conservation and management of nearshore fishery resources, including marine, shell, and anadromous species.

The ASMFC's Horseshoe Crab Management Board initiated Addendum VII to implement an Adaptive Resource Management framework, incorporating both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to optimize horseshoe crab harvest levels in the Delaware Bay area. The framework, developed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey, aims to balance horseshoe crab harvests with the needs of shorebirds.

The Draft Addendum will address allocation of the ARM harvest output among New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland, considering multiple decision options, including harvest caps and proportions of horseshoe crabs harvested from the Delaware Bay population. The Board also formed an ad-hoc working group to develop best management practices to minimize coastwide mortality from collecting horseshoe crab blood for biomedical uses.