Gov. Kathy Hochul signs off on gradual phaseout of commercial harvest of horseshoe crabs

A gradual ban on the commercial harvest of horseshoe crabs for bait and biomedical uses in New York State was cheered by conservationists but blasted by fishermen. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an amended bill Friday that will end the harvest in 2029 after a three-year phasedown. Hochul said in a signing memo that a prior version of the bill she vetoed last year, which called for an immediate ban, "did not leave those [fishing and biomedical] industries enough time to transition to alternatives."

In her veto message last year, Hochul argued that management of the fishery was "better left to the experts" at her Department of Environmental Conservation, which has instituted limits on the commercial harvest to protect horseshoe crabs during their spring and summer spawns.

Under the new plan, horseshoe crabs will be fully banned for bait harvest by 2029, after a reduction to 75% of the annual 150,000-crab limit in 2026, no more than 50% in 2027 and no more than 25% in 2028, according to a chapter amendment signed on Friday.

Under current rules, fishermen can take 250 horseshoe crabs per day, and New York's annual quota of 150,000 is considered "voluntary" against a federally allowed 366,000 quota.

Fishermen last year harvested more than 141,000 horseshoe crabs on New York beaches, a figure that has steadily climbed in the past six years. Just over 44,000 were harvested in 2020, according to state figures.

"It’s going to hurt a lot of people," Will Caldwell, a Hampton Bays fisherman who has reported abundant numbers of the crabs, said of the ban Friday. "Maybe we’ll get a new governor who learns how to manage this resource and not eliminate it."

But John Tanacredi, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at Molloy University who has advocated for the ban for years, applauded the move, saying it would "clearly be a positive step for horseshoe crab populations on Long Island."

Tanacredi conducted annual surveys of the arthropods for decades and reported declining populations before his initiative was phased out by Molloy in a cost-cutting move earlier this year.

Data and studies about the health of the horseshoe crab population have been decidedly mixed.

As Newsday reported in August, a recent study in the journal Scientific Reports cataloged horseshoe crabs’ "severe population decline in multiple locations" of Long Island Sound "for over 20 years," with declines averaging from 2.8% to 9.3% each year.

Fishing advocates say the ban defies other findings that point to the relative health of the fishery.

In a statement to Newsday in October, the DEC noted that horseshoe crab spawning "varies geographically across the region," but in general "each region throughout New York is showing increasing trends in recent years."

In contrast to Long Island Sound studies, "the South Shore region, where more than 60% of the commercial horseshoe crab harvest occurs, has the greatest magnitude of spawning activity and data shows an increasing trend in spawning-age adults," DEC wrote in response to Newsday questions.

Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, an industry group, called the ban "completely unacceptable."

"Why bother with fisheries-based science and management limits when a fear campaign filled with falsehoods that convinces the public the species is in danger of extinction can rule the day?" Brady said.  

But David Ansel, vice president of the Center for Water Protection at conservation group Save the Sound, called the ban a "necessary step to protect this critical species." He said horseshoe crabs "have been around for hundreds of millions of years and are an indispensable part of a healthy Long Island Sound ecosystem. They provide a key food source for migratory birds, sport fish, sea turtles and other species." 

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.