MANAGING FISHERIES: EXPERTISE MATTERS

 

There was a big to-do here in New York late last year, when Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed legislation that would have prohibited the harvest of horseshoe crabs in New York’s waters. 

The legislation, dubbed the “Horseshoe Crab Protection Act,” had become a hot-button issue for various environmental organizations within and without the state.  Although it included other provisions which extended the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation’s authority to manage the various species of crab that inhabit New York’s waters (horseshoe crabs, despite their name, aren’t really crabs at all, but rather belong to an ancient family that dates back to the early Triassic period, 250 million years ago, and are the only survivors of the order Xiphosura, which originated about 445 million years ago, in the late Ordovician; they are more closely related to spiders and ticks than to the crustaceans that we know as “crabs”), the language relating to horseshoe crabs read

“No person shall take horseshoe crabs (Limulus sp.), including for commercial or biomedical purposes, from the waters of this state.  Provided, however that this section shall not apply to the taking of horseshoe crabs (Limulus sp.) for bona fide scientific or educational purposes including, but not limited to, public or not-for-profit zoos and aquaria, as determined by the Commissioner pursuant to rules and regulations.  [formatting omitted]”

The bill’s primary sponsor was Assemblywoman Deborah J Glick, Chair of the Assembly's Committee on Environmental Conservation, who represents a district on the lower West Side of Manhattan.  The Senate version of the bill was sponsored by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who also represents a district on the West Side of Manhattan.  

It’s probably fair to say that neither district hosts a horseshoe crab fishery nor any shallow-sloping beaches where horseshoe crabs might lay their eggs, although there are undoubtedly a few of the creatures that pass by unseen in the murky olive-brown depths of the Hudson River.  It’s also probably fair to assume that neither sponsor has much practical experience with horseshoe crab biology or New York's horseshoe crab fishery, and that whatever knowledge they might have of such subjects was acquired second-hand.

People with first-hand knowledge of horseshoe crabs and horseshoe crab fisheries can be found in the Marine Division of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and among the various biologists who advise the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and it’s probably important to note that few if any of them believed it necessary to completely shut down New York’s horseshoe crab fishery, although fishery managers do believe that it should be subject to appropriate management measures.

The ASMFC developed its first horseshoe crab management plan in 1998.  That plan noted that

“The status of horseshoe crab populations along the Atlantic Seaboard is poorly understood and is based on independent spawning surveys, egg counts, and trawl surveys, primarily conducted in the Delaware Bay region.  Concern over increased exploitation of horseshoe crabs, particularly in the mid-Atlantic States, has been expressed by state and federal fishery resource agencies, conservation organizations, and fisheries interests.  Horseshoe crabs are important to migrating shorebirds and federally listed sea turtles as sources of food, and are critical to biomedical research and pharmaceutical testing.  Because horseshoe crabs are slow to mature and easily harvested with minimal financial investments, populations are sensitive to harvest pressure.”

Because, when that first management plan was drafted, there were no biological reference points that could be used to gauge the health of the horseshoe crab population, and because no such biological reference points have yet been developed, 1998 serves as the base year that is used to determine the relative abundance of horseshoe crabs.  Since the overall horseshoe crab stock is composed of a number of local populations, that display small genetic differences throughout the stock’s range, the coastwide stock is not only evaluated on a coastwide basis, but is also broken down into four regions—Northeast, New York (which also includes Connecticut), Delaware Bay, and Southeast—with the relative abundance in each region gauged separately.

According to the most recent stock assessment update, released last May, coastwide stock status is “good,” with more than two-thirds of the surveys conducted finding horseshoe crabs more abundant than they were in 1998, an improvement over the 2019 benchmark assessment, when just under half of the surveys found greater abundance.  The Delaware Bay and Southeast regions also showed the stocks at “good” levels.  Stock status in the Northeast is only rated as “neutral,” with surveys finding abundance roughly equal to what it was in 1998, and better than it was in 2009 and 2013.

But New York is the one exception to the rule of generally increasing abundance.  In New York, horseshoe crab abundance has been decreasing, with the status of the regional population falling from “good” in 2009 to “neutral” in 2013 to “poor” in 2019 and 2024, with 75 percent of last year’s surveys showing lower abundance than in 1998.

It’s clear that New York’s population of horseshoe crabs can use a helping hand, but it’s not clear that a complete closure of the fishery is justified.  The Department of Environmental Conservation has already taken significant action; although the ASMFC awards New York an annual quota of 366,272 horseshoe crabs, the state has voluntarily adopted and still maintains a quota of just 150,000 animals, less than half of what it is allowed.  In addition, to protect spawning horseshoe crabs, the state has adopted four 5-day closures during May and June, which coincide with the lunar periods with the highest tides, when the horseshoe crabs spawn.

New York’s efforts seem to be yielding results; although abundance surveys are not yet showing improvement compared to 1998 levels, three out of the four state surveys conducted in 2023 showed improvement compared to 2022 and three out of the four surveys conducted in 2022 also showed improvement compared to the previous survey.

Whether that improvement is enough to maintain the status quo is open to informed debate.  But it was not such informed debate that gave birth to the bill that the governor vetoed.

Instead, the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act seemed to be born out of emotion rather than hard data, with some organizations even seemingly contradicting themselves in their efforts to close New York’s fishery.  For example, the American Bird Conservancy urged passage of the bill, emphasizing the horseshoe crab’s importance to a shorebird called the red knot, writing

“The Horseshoe Crab is a keystone species that plays a crucial role in its ecosystem.  Its nutrient-dense eggs are vital for a diverse array of shorebirds, including the Threatened Red Knot.  Unfortunately, the Horseshoe Crab population in New York has declined drastically, threatening the species and the various wildlife that rely on them.  [emphasis in original]”

Not only is there no indication that the horseshoe crab population is threatened—the latest stock assessment shows its coastwide status as “good”—but in another of the American Bird Conservancy’s web pages dedicated to the red knot, the organization notes that

“The rufa Red Knot’s spring migration is timed to coincide with the horseshoe crab’s spawning season, as the massive outlay of eggs provides a rich, easily digestible food source for the exhausted birds.  Delaware Bay shores provide the single most important spring stopover area for the Red Knot, hosting within a narrow time window up to 90 percent of the North American population.  Other key U.S. stopover sites include coastal islands off Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts.  [emphasis added]”

New York, and the supposed importance of its horseshoe crabs to the red knot, is most notable for its absence from the list of key feeding sites; although some red knots do feed on horseshoe crab eggs in New York’s Jamaica Bay and elsewhere along the state’s coast, from a red knot’s perspective, New York is mostly a “flyover state” that is largely ignored during the birds' jump from Delaware Bay to more northerly climes.

Yet the needs of the red knot were used to justify closing the state’s horseshoe crab fishery, with a spokesman for the National Audubon Society stating, in one of Assemblywoman Glick’s press releases, that during their northward migration,

“Red Knots rely on horseshoe crab eggs for food so they can refuel and complete their migrations…Protecting horseshoe crabs by banning their harvest in New York State is one important step we can take to ensure the survival of the Red Knot…”

Such comment grossly overstates the importance of New York’s horseshoe crab population to the red knot’s survival, which cannot be ensured by anything done in the state.

But when it comes to tugging on people’s emotions, New York’s horseshoe crab debate hit its high point—or, perhaps, its low point—with Assemblywoman Glick’s announcement that

“Dr. Jane Goodall Joins the Fight to Protect Horseshoe Crabs in New York,”

a press release which goes on to note that

“Dr. Goodall penned a letter to Governor Hochul on November 12, 2024, requesting that the Governor sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act.  Dr. Goodall’s letter states, ‘I believe New York has an opportunity to lead in this conservation effort.  By signing this bill, you can ensure the survival of the horseshoe crab and the many species that depend on it…”

Now, Dr. Goodall is an extremely well-known and deservedly famous researcher who, with the 1971 publication of In the Shadow of Man, literally wrote the book on chimpanzee behavior.   However, her biography reveals nothing to suggest that she has any particular insights or knowledge relating to New York’s horseshoe crab population, or to horseshoe crabs generally, that would elevate her views on the subject above those of anyone else, and given that the horseshoe crab stock is composed of local populations that range everywhere between New England and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, it’s hard to accept that a bill passed in New York can “ensure the survival of the horseshoe crab” throughout its entire range.

Yet it has been this type of emotional appeal that has driven the horseshoe crab bill.  At the January 14 meeting of New York’s Marine Resources Advisory Council, Martin Gary, the Director of the DEC’s Marine Division, noted that no one on his staff was invited to address the merits of the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act before either the New York State Assembly’s or the Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committees, even though there are staff biologists fully capable of educating legislators on the issues relevant to such legislation.  

Instead of basing their actions on hard facts and good data, legislators apparently felt comfortable relying on the slanted narratives provided by various advocacy groups opposed to the horseshoe crab fishery.

Thus, Governor Hochul was put into a position where she was forced to veto the horseshoe crab bill.

In her veto message, Governor Hochul noted that

“While this bill is well-intentioned, the management of marine species is better left to the experts at DEC.”

And that’s the key point.

Maybe there is a good argument for closing New York’s horseshoe crab fishery, at least until local abundance returns to something approaching its 1998 level.  And if that’s the case, advocates for such a closure should assemble their data, bring it to the experts at the DEC, and make whatever rational arguments they can muster, based on fact and not on emotional, overblown arguments that New York’s actions will decide the fate of the horseshoe crab or of the red knot, a bird that makes a 9,000 mile migration from southern South America to its arctic nesting grounds, and faces far greater threats than the health of the horseshoe crab population in a state that most red knots pass over without ever stopping to land.

Whether we’re talking about managing horseshoe crabs, menhaden, striped bass, or any other living marine resource, management decisions should be based on good science and good data, not emotion.  Management decisions should be made by professional wildlife managers, and not by politicians who seek to provide unneeded protections for charismatic species or try to remove needed protections from species that happen to vex constituents and campaign contributors.

There are occasional exceptions to the rule, but far more often than not, when natural resources are managed by largely uninformed legislators rather than by professional wildlife managers, things don’t turn out very well.