Hi all-- We wanted to find out the "scoop" on the Delaware Horseshoe Crab harvest from the state agencies tasked with regulating it. Barry called and spoke with two employees of Fish and Wildlife, who told him the following: LICENSE: All harvesters collecting crabs have to have a license -- it is $100 for residents and $1000 for non-residents. They have arrested five people in last few days at Pt. Mahon for not having a license. We forgot to ask whether the license has to be displayed (that is, if a birder could note lack of license and report violators). There is NO LIMIT on number of crabs harvested. The employee Barry spoke with acknowledged problems -- one, non-residents can buy crabs from residents without needing an expensive license; two, they have not been able to completely deal with the "tractor-trailer" problem but hope to get legislation passed to restrict this practice. DAYS: Crabs can be harvested by licensed individuals only on Tuesday and Thursday from specified public beaches, Pt. Mahon being one specified site. The employee said Pickering Beach, Ted Harvey and (he thought) Kitt's Hummock were all off-limits to harvest. Crabs can be harvested from private beaches with owner's permission on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (but can this be enforced on private land?) WHAT WE CAN DO: The state employee asked that if we see any illegal harvest (that is, on closed beaches or on non-harvest days) to call Enforcement at 302-739-3440. I will find out about the license display situation and let everyone know. Report the vehicle tag# and description to the Nat. Resources police. There is a public phone at the Post Office at the corner of Pt. Mahon Rd. and Rt. 9. Do not confront the individual your- self, no matter how much you would like to! Also, it was apparent from Barry's conversation that there is some agency frustration that the legislature has not adopted some regulations to close loopholes, like out-of-state buyers. I would advise that Delawarians write or phone their state delegates and that the rest of us write to the state Governor's office. I did that for New Jersey a few years back, and got both a call and a detailed letter back outlining proposed crab regulations. Be sure to emphasize your economic contribution to the state, e.g. number of trips to Delaware area in a year, and so forth. Also, when travelling over there, be sure and let shop owners, gas station, restaurant and motel owners know you are there birdwatching. Saying you are really concerned about the horseshoe crabs and how it will affect birders coming to Delaware would be useful, if you have the opportunity. Gail Mackiernan Silver Spring, MD