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Horseshoe Crab Preservation NOTE: Sussex Beat is a mix of news, analysis and commentary by Eric Magill, publisher of Sussex County Online.
While we certainly applaud efforts to protect truly endangered species, we have to be skeptical of Delaware Gov. Thomas R. Carper's current campaign to ban horseshoe crab harvesting in the Delaware Bay. For weeks, our governor has been sending out press releases, writing letters to the U.S. Department of Commerce, and holding press conferences declaring that the horseshoe crab population is in decline and in need of drastic protection measures. He was at it again on Broadkill Beach on Tuesday, June 13, 2000, renewing his call for a federal ban on horseshoe crab harvesting within a 30-mile radius of the mouth of the Delaware Bay and urging the establishment of Broadkill Beach as a horseshoe crab sanctuary where harvesting would be illegal. Oddly, though, one of the groups attending his speech at Broadkill Beach to support the governor readily admits that no one has any idea whether or not the horseshoe crab population is in decline. Heck, it might even be on the increase, for all we know. "In order to accurately assess population trends in any group of animals, two things must happen," says the Milton-based Ecological Research & Development Group Inc. on its web site." First, an accurate initial census (baseline) must be taken that counts (or estimates within an acceptable margin of error) the total number of individuals in a population. Second, the method by which the animals are counted after the baseline census must be consistent from location to location and from year to year. "Unfortunately, in the case of horseshoe crabs, there is no accurate baseline data from previous years; in addition, governmental and environmental groups have employed different (i.e., inconsistent) censusing methods over the years. The end result is that, as of the year 2000, no one can say with certainty how many horseshoe crabs inhabit the Atlantic coast, or whether their numbers have gone up or down significantly in the past 10 or 20 years." So if that's the case, why is Gov. Carper so hell-bent on stopping the harvesting of horseshoe crabs? Perhaps the governor wants to show he can accomplish things at the federal level as he prepares for his uphill battle against incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Roth this fall. We don't deny that horseshoe crabs are important, not only to the thousands of migrating shorebirds that gorge themselves on horseshoe crab eggs on their flights north in May and June, but also to the bait and pharmaceutical industries. But until we know there actually is a horseshoe crab problem, we think the state has more pressing matters for the governor to address.
While calling for horseshoe crab preservation, Gov. Carper also recognized seven Sussex County students' for their efforts in the second annual Just Flip 'Em!® Horseshoe Crab Drawing Contest. The seven local first-place winners are:
The contest, sponsored by the Milton-based Ecological Research and Development Group Inc., attracted nearly 500 students from elementary schools in Delaware and Maryland. It is designed to raise student and community awareness about the importance of horseshoe crabs. Each winner received a drawing kit, five Just Flip 'Em!® t-shirts, a poster of the winning design, and horseshoe crab information.
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To learn more about horseshoe crabs, visit the web site of the Milton-based Ecological Research & Development Group. Local News Index | News Index |
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