PPT Slide

Source:S. Michels, Delaware Fish and Wildlife

Horseshoe Crabs have declined by over 75% in the last 11 years

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Notes:

This intricate system that worked for crabs and birds for thousands of years appears to be unraveling. In the early 90’s, horseshoe crabs became valuable as bait for the new and expanding fishery for conch, itself newly valuable because of the crash of other fisheries like cod. Within a few years, the low and sustainable traditional use of crabs as bait for eel fishermen expanded to unprecedented levels.