Horseshoe crabs are an ancient species that play a keystone role in our coastal ecosystem. The eggs they lay on bays across Long Island each spring provide forage for numerous wildlife species, including turtles, mammals and birds. Many migrating shorebirds, such as the federally endangered red knot, are reliant on horseshoe crab eggs to help them reach their arctic nesting grounds. Juvenile horseshoe crabs are also an important food resource for marine fish, turtles and other wildlife.

New York currently allows 150,000 horseshoe crabs to be harvested annually (while they are trying to spawn!) for use as bait in the whelk and American eels fisheries. In both 2019 and 2024, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission assessed New York’s horseshoe crab population as “poor.” In both years, it was the only such rating in the mid-Atlantic states – and was down from a  “good” rating from the previous assessment in 2009. While some harvest restrictions and other measures have been put in place by NYSDEC in recent years, there is no evidence that the horseshoe crab population is rebounding. 

Importantly, horseshoe crabs are facing significant challenges from rising sea levels and other climate change impacts. Increased water levels and increasingly frequent and severe storms are already reducing the availability of the estuarine beach habitat that horseshoe crabs require to spawn. This is especially true in places where bulkheads and other hardened structures on the shoreline prevent beaches from moving inland. It is critical that we protect horseshoe crabs now and allow their populations to grow as they increasingly face the loss of spawning habitat.

Please let Governor Hochul know that you support the horseshoe crab legislation! Thank you.