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Scientists and fishermen have divided opinions about the health of the crab population.
© Rebecca Wharton |
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Since 1985, the commercial harvest of horseshoe crabs along the Atlantic coast has greatly expanded. From 1990 to 1994, the National Marine Fisheries Service reported the Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey harvest increasing from 685,648 pounds (311,000 kilograms) to 1,386,367 (628,846 kilograms), which translates to an annual haul estimated at half a million crabs. Dr. Mark. L. Botton, associate professor of biology at Fordham University, cites a much higher figure: "It's now becoming clear that the number taken is approaching a million a year." Botton, who is studying the New Jersey crab population, notes that "on the one hand, some of the watermen argue that there's absolutely no indication that the numbers are going down. On the other hand, some of the environmental spokespeople are talking about the population on the verge of extinction. Neither of these extremes is correct, and we're trying to provide the data that allow for proper management of the population."
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