St. Simons Island, Georgia – The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board has approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2014 season. Based on the allocation mechanism established in Addendum VII, the following quotas were set for the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, which harvest horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin:
| Delaware Bay Origin Horseshoe Crab Quota (no. of crabs) | Total Quota | |
| State | Male Only | Male Only |
| Delaware | 162,136 | 162,136 |
| New Jersey | 162,136 | 162,136 |
| Maryland | 141,112 | 255,980 |
| Virginia* | 34,615 | 81,331 |
*Virginia harvest refers to harvest east of the COLREGS line only
The ARM Framework, established through Addendum VII, incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized harvest levels for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. It was developed in recognition of the relationship between horseshoe crab eggs and shorebirds in the Delaware Bay Region. The optimized harvest level will be reevaluated annually, allowing for management to adapt to the changes in the population levels of horseshoe crabs and shorebirds as a result of the regulations.
For additional more information, please contact Marin Hawk, FMP Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or mhawk@asmfc.org.