We are sickened that New York has ignored science and decided to protect the commercial fishing industry instead of horseshoe crabs. These ancient mariners are already functionally extinct in the Long Island Sound, which means they can’t fulfill their ecological role.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bill that would have banned the killing of horseshoe crabs as bait or for biomedical purposes. She said in her veto statement that while the bill “is well intentioned, the management of marine species is better left to the experts at the state Department of Environmental Conservation.”

Actually, the experts can be found at the Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission, which downgraded the stocks of horseshoe crabs in the NY region, which includes Connecticut and the Long Island Sound, from Neutral to Poor in 2019. According to the Commission, horseshoe crab populations have been in decline for at least 15 years.

“That Hochul thinks the best science on this controversial issue comes from NY DEC, which has financial ties to selling fishing licenses, goes to her shallow understanding of the agency’s motivations,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. “DEC is not an independent scientific body. Not to mention, stricter regulations will not prevent horseshoe crabs from going extinct—you can’t regulate atrocities.”

“The Governor’s veto is based on the erroneous conviction that these living fossils, which lived alongside dinosaurs, can be wasted as bait or bled for pharmaceutical testing purposes when other alternatives exist for fishing and a synthetic compound substitute. Additionally, as our neighboring states have wisely taken the step to ban the taking of horseshoe crabs, our population will be at further risk, beyond the climate challenges of rising sea levels, ” said Assemblymember Deborah Glick.

DEC’s current so-called regulations allow for the killing of 150,000 horseshoe crabs annually. There are approximately 431 commercial permit holders allowed to kill horseshoe crabs and sell them as bait to about a dozen whelk and eel fishers.

Friends of Animals brought the plight of horseshoe crabs to the attention of NY Assemblymember Deborah Glick and helped advocate for the legislation when she introduced it. FoA helped Connecticut pass a similar ban on killing horseshoe crabs in 2023. A NY ban would bolster its effectiveness. Long Island Sound would be a safer place for horseshoe crabs!

“In 2025, we’ll continue to press for a ban on the killing of horseshoe crabs in New York. The state needs to stop the reckless, unnecessary killing of horseshoe crabs so people in Hong Kong could eat smoked eel and conch fritters,” Feral said.

In the meantime,  Friends of Animals has petitioned the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to list the Atlantic horseshoe crab under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If horseshoe crabs are listed as endangered under the ESA, they could not be killed without a permit.

If the Secretary of Commerce does not issue a finding in the next couple of months, in 2025 FoA can send a notice of intent to sue for failure to make a timely filing.