"PORTLAND, Maine — Interstate fishing regulators are limiting the harvest of a primordial species of invertebrate to try to help rebuild its population and aid a threatened species of bird.

Fishermen harvest horseshoe crabs on the East Coast for use as bait and in biomedical products. The animals are declining in some of their range, and they’re critically important as a food source for the red knot, a migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said it will allow no harvest of female horseshoe crabs that originate in the Delaware Bay during the 2024 fishing season. The Delaware Bay is one of the most important ecosystems for the crabs, which are also harvested in large numbers in New England."

Patrick Whittle reports for the Associated Press November 13, 2023. [2]