Who Harvests Horseshoe Crabs?
Description of the Fishery The fishing effort for horseshoe crabs is generally concentrated within the mid-Atlantic area, specifically New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and adjacent federal waters. Because no known recreational fishery for horseshoe crabs exists, fishing mortality of horseshoe crabs is predominantly from the commercial fisheries, including the bait fishery and the biomedical fishery. Current Fishery Regulations Current fishing regulations vary dramatically among the Atlantic coastal states . Generally, fishing regulations for horseshoe crabs are minimal to nonexistent in comparison with other fisheries. However, several states (New Hampshire, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) have recently initiated or proposed more restrictive harvest regulations. South Carolina has prohibited harvest except for the biomedical industry since 1991. The Commercial Fishery Between the 1850s and the 1920s, over one million horseshoe crabs were harvested annually for fe
