As I'm sure many of you know, the Red Knot is not a common bird in MD. And
it has been in serious decline for decades, on the order of 75-90%. This in
largely attributed to the horseshoe crab harvest. Horseshoe crab spawning
in Delaware Bay fuels Red Knot migration in May and early June when the Red
Knots arrive after a non-stop flight from northeast South America. They
then must build body mass before embarking on the next and final leg to the
breeding areas up in Canada. The Red Knot decline has occurred as the
horseshoe crab harvest took off to provide bait for eel and conch fisheries.
These delicacies are popular in Europe and Asia. New Jersey has halted its
harvest and Delaware has curtailed it. But neither the horseshoe crab nor
the Red Knot have bounced back. It turns out the Maryland leads the nation
in horseshoe crab harvest. The Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population has
been documented to occur in the MD waters, where they are subject to
harvest.
The Maryland Ornithological Society has written to the Governor and the
Secretary for Natural Resources, seeking a moratorium on the bait harvest of
the crabs. It would help the cause if individual birders also wrote. There
are readily-available alternatives to horseshoe crab for eel and conch bait
(cat food, chopped blue gills, dirty diapers‹ I am NOT kidding about the
latter), though they don't work as well.
The Anne Arundel Chapter of MOS began the campaign in May with an Op-Ed in
the Washington POST. MOS has joined in, a little belatedly, but
nevertheless. I invite you to join the swell, and consider writing yourself.
You can write to Governor O'Malley at <governor...> and Secretary
Griffin <jgriffin...>
If you would like to see MOS' letter to the governor or to see any of the
studies upon which we based this letter, contact me.
Kurt Schwarz
Conservation Chair
Maryland Ornithological Society
<Goawaybird...>
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