As the group that led the effort to get the killing of horseshoe crabs for bait banned in Connecticut in 2023, Friends of Animals is applauding researchers at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Connecticut, for undertaking a study focused on horseshoe crab populations throughout all of Long Island Sound. Like us, now they are sounding the alarm bells—horseshoe crab populations have plummeted to “severe” levels — and we need immediate action to prevent the ancient species from going extinct. 

“It’s important for other Atlantic-coast states to adopt similar regulations,” said Sarah Crosby, Maritime Aquarium’s vice president of conservation and the study’s co-author, referring to CT’s ban, which was championed by state Rep. Joe Gresko (D-Stratford). 

That’s why we are pressing NY Governor Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would ban the killing of horseshoe crabs, including for commercial and biomedical purposes, that the NY State legislature once again passed in June. You can email Hochul and tell her to sign the bill here: Governor Contact Form | Governor Kathy Hochul. Or call her office at (518) 474-8390. 

The Sound has long been understudied compared to other horseshoe crab habitats, with population assessments often relying on a single data set, according to Crosby. 

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, analyzed six biodiversity monitoring programs spanning 22 and 46 years that “haven’t been explored specifically for horseshoe crabs.” Taken together, the data gives researchers a comprehensive look at horseshoe crab trends not just in the Sound’s offshore waters, but also in its 115 bays, harbors and coves. 

“When we look at all of those places, it paints a very compelling picture for the needs for additional (horseshoe crab) protections,” Crosby said. 

  

Key Findings 

• Horseshoe crab counts in bays and harbors throughout the Sound were decreasing at an annual rate of 2% to 9% — figures that Crosby said “deeply concerned” her. While 2% doesn’t seem like much, she said, even small declines can add up to long-term losses that are “really a cause for great concern,” she said.  

• Evidence shows a rising proportion of large-bodied female horseshoe crabs, which experts say could signal stress within the population. 

• The central Long Island Sound, which consists of deeper, off-shore regions, showed a slower rate of decline and even a slight recent uptick in sightings. But researchers cautioned that the increase could be an anomaly that needs closer monitoring. 

  

As you may recall, in 2024, we succeeded in getting a bill to Gov. Hochul, but she vetoed it. We need our supporters’ help to get her to sign the bill and protect these ancient mariners from extinction.  

Fishers use horseshoe crabs in massive numbers as bait for eel and whelk so people can have their conch fritters and smoked eel, leading to their decline in status in recent reviews by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. There were 431 commercial horseshoe crab permits issued in 2023 by the state of New York, leading to the slaughter of a senseless 150,000 crabs from New York waters. 

According to marine biologists, the horseshoe crab is functionally extinct in Long Island Sound. That means horseshoe crabs no longer play an effective role in their ecosystem and that negatively affects many other species, such as the threatened red knot shorebird. 

Without sufficient horseshoe crab eggs to feed on, migratory birds run out of energy and die before reaching their breeding grounds. Horseshoe crabs are also an important source of food for other wildlife such as sea turtles, and species such as anemones, barnacles, oysters and seaweed use horseshoe crab shells as homes.