Arlington, VA – The Atlantic coastal states of New Jersey through Virginia have scheduled hearings to gather public input on Horseshoe Crab Draft Addendum VIII. Draft Addendum VIII considers adopting the changes to the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework recommended in the 2021 ARM Framework Revision and allowing its use in setting annual bait harvest specifications for Delaware Bay-origin horseshoe crabs. Some hearings will be conducted via webinar and some hearings will be conducted in person. Additional details on participating in the webinars can be found later in this release. The public hearing details are attached.
The Board initiated Draft Addendum VIII in January 2022, after it accepted the 2021 Revision of the ARM Framework and Peer Review Report for management use. The ARM Revision was endorsed by the independent peer review panel as the best and most current scientific information for the management of horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay Region, as it addresses previous peer review critiques, includes new sources of data, and adopts new modeling software to set harvest levels for Delaware Bay-origin horseshoe crabs that account for the forage needs of migratory shorebirds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has evaluated the proposed changes to the management of horseshoe crabs under the ARM Revision to determine the likelihood of impacts to the red knot. The analysis indicates there is a less than one percent chance of a red knot population decline due to the implementation of potential female harvest under the ARM Revision. Based on this analysis, the Service concludes that take, defined under the Endangered Species Act as killing or injuring of red knots, is not likely. More information on the Service’s analysis of the ARM Framework Revision is available at https://www.fws.gov/media/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-evaluation-atlantic-states-marine-fisheries-commission- horseshoe.
Horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay Region (New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) have been managed under the ARM Framework to set harvest levels with consideration of the needs of migratory shorebirds since 2013. The ARM was developed jointly by the Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey in recognition of the importance of horseshoe crab eggs to migratory shorebirds stopping over in the Delaware Bay region. In particular, horseshoe crab eggs are a critical food source for the rufa red knot, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The 2021 Revision includes improvements to the ARM Framework’s population models for horseshoe crabs and red knots and incorporates more sources of horseshoe crab removal data, including mortality due to the biomedical industry and commercial discards from other fisheries.
Draft Addendum VIII includes two proposed options: no action, and an option to adopt the changes to the ARM Framework recommended in the 2021 Revision for use in setting annual bait harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay-origin. The changes proposed include using sex-specific harvest recommendations on a continuous scale rather than the previous discrete harvest packages, slight modifications to the adaptive management cycle, revised proportions of each state’s harvest that is of Delaware Bay-origin, and the resulting state allocations.
The maximum amount of male and female horseshoe crab harvest (210,000 females and 500,000 males), the general structure of how the ARM optimal harvest output is allocated among the four Delaware bay states, and the conceptual model of horseshoe crab abundance influencing red knot survival and reproduction remain the same in the ARM Revision, with the intent of ensuring the abundance of horseshoe crabs does not become a limiting factor in the population growth of red knots. If no action is taken, management measures would revert back to the provisions of Addendum VI.
A more detailed overview of the 2021 ARM Revision can be found here. The final ARM Revision and Peer Review Report is available here.
Submitting Comments
The Draft Addendum is available here. All those interested in the management of horseshoe crab are encouraged to provide input either by participating in public hearings, which may be conducted via webinar, or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EDT) on September 30 and should be sent to Caitlin Starks, Senior FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Horseshoe Crab Draft Addendum VIII).
Comments received during a public comment period on a proposed management action play an important role in the Commission’s fisheries management process. All comments, whether they are individually submitted or as part of a larger, coordinated stakeholder response, are considered equally by a species management board when it determines final management action. When staff compiles all comments received, they use a categorization process to help the board effectively and efficiently navigate submitted public comment, whether it is 50 or 300,000 comments. Three or more comments that have the same language or state support for an organization’s comments are considered form letters. However, if the commenter provides additional comments/rationale related to potential management action beyond the organization’s or letter’s comments, then it is considered an individual comment.
If your organization is planning to release an action alert in response to the Draft Addendum, please contact Caitlin Starks at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740, so she can work with you to develop a unique subject line to enable us to better organize and summarize incoming comments for Board review.