SOURCE:
https://www.eastendbeacon.com/hochul-vetoes-horseshoe-crab-harvest-ban/
By Beth Young - December 16, 2024
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bill that would have banned the harvest of horseshoe crabs for bait or biomedical research, saying in her veto statement Dec. 13 that she believes the management of marine species “is better left to the experts” at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Environmentalists, who have been pushing the state to mirror bans on taking of the environmentally threatened horseshoe crabs in neighboring states of Connecticut and New Jersey, are not happy.
“Governor Hochul didn’t just drop the ball; she dropped the axe by vetoing the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act,” said Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito on Sunday. “It’s unacceptable to allow the continued antiquated practice of chopping up horseshoe crabs so they can be used as bait by fishermen.”
“It is both disappointing and embarrassing that New York will fail to enact the same protections that have already been adopted by our coastal neighbors in New Jersey and Connecticut, and it’s clear that this decision was not based in science,” said Group for the East End in a statement this weekend.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission sets the total commercial bait harvest limit for New York State at about 300,000 crabs per year, and the state “has voluntarily reduced the permitted annual harvest of horseshoe crabs in New York State to a total of 150,000 crabs” per year, according to the DEC, with a limit of 100 crabs daily.
Ms. Hochul’s veto statement asks the State Legislature to ”restore DEC’s specific authority to regulate crabs” and to implement “further administrative measures to protect this species.”
“The DEC has been managing the species. Unfortunately, they are understaffed, and underfunded and the management mechanisms they are employing are essentially too little, too late,” said Group for the East End Director of Conservation Advocacy Jennifer Hartnagel on Monday, Dec. 16. “The time was now to require a conservation method, already adopted by our coastal neighbors, to aid the population and prevent further decline. It’s unfortunate that this decision was punted back to the agency that’s taken the “let’s wait and see approach,” because ultimately, we have all the evidence that needs to be seen to take appropriate regulatory action.”
The Center for Biological Diversity is currently petitioning the federal government to list the American Horseshoe Crab as an endangered or threatened species, noting in its petition that “multiple studies have indicated a significant decline of the American horseshoe crab in Connecticut and New York.”
Horseshoe crabs are frequently used as bait by conch and eel fishermen here, while their blood is used in the biomedical field to test for bacterial contamination in intravenous fluids, vaccines and medical devices.
“Overharvesting has drastically depleted horseshoe crab populations, to the point where they now face local extinction,” said Ms. Esposito, of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “This archaic harvesting practice should have been left in the past, but with this veto, horseshoe crabs may be lost to history. We are appalled that Governor Hochul squandered a rare and special opportunity to save an ancient species from extinction. The governor’s inaction is not only harmful to horseshoe crabs, but also to the many other species that rely on them, such as the red knot.”
She added that members of the public sent more than 40,000 letters, post cards, and emails to the governor’s office asking her to sign the bill.
Group for the East End also thanked members of the public for participating in the campaign, including famed primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall.
“We are so grateful to the hundreds of supporters across the East End who clearly understand the ecological importance of the horseshoe crab and joined us in advocating for the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act,” according to The Group. “While we are disheartened, we are not deterred. As always, the Group will continue advocating for the environment and all of its inhabitants, and will continue to press for the highest level of environmental protection for this living fossil.”
