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News 9 Jun 07 US judge dumps horseshoe crab protection A judge has struck down Delaware's two-year ban on harvesting horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay, saying the crustaceans' population is healthy enough to allow a limited harvest. The state failed to prove its case in favor of the ban, Superior Court Judge Richard Stokes ruled Friday in a lawsuit filed by two businesses involved in the harvest and sale of the crabs. He said that while the crab population was seriously depleted by overharvesting through 1998, it has since stabilized. The ruling is "extremely disappointing," said Michael Parr, vice president of the American Bird Conservancy. "The court has put the profits of a very small number of fishermen over the interests of the people of Delaware," Parr said. Fourteen Atlantic coast states, including Delaware, have implemented conservation measures to protect the crabs, which are used as bait by eel and conch fisherman but also are vital to migratory shorebirds that gorge on crab eggs during spring stopovers on the shore of Delaware Bay. New Jersey and Delaware both imposed two-year harvest moratoriums last year to address the immediate threat to red knot and other shorebird populations. Delaware environmental secretary John Hughes concluded that a decline in the red knot population was so significant that extreme measures were needed to ensure a supply of crab eggs when the birds arrived. "Today's ruling represents a debatable legal decision by the court and a lousy environmental decision for the state," Hughes said. The judge said allowing a limited crab harvest of 100,000 males would have a "very minimal effect" on the crab population. links US Biologists Fight to Save Rare Bird From Extinction Story by Jon Hurdle PlanetArk 9 Jun 06 Shorebirds Face Extinction Due to Crab Decline John Roach National Geographic 18 Apr 06 Related articles on Global: marine |
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