More horseshoe crabs mean more shorebirds, and scientists have already said that both populations are in danger because people are taking too many horseshoe crabs.
The crabs are chopped up and sold as bait for whelks. An appetite for whelks is wrecking a thousand year old natural balance. Come on, we can do better.
Every Spring, horseshoe crabs lay hundreds of thousands of eggs on the water's edge. Red knots, skinny little birds who make an epic journey every year from top of the world to bottom, stop by on the same beaches. They eat lots of horse shoe crab eggs. So do many other marine birds.
Until people started taking crabs for bait. there were always enough horse shoe crab eggs to ensure plenty of baby crabs and enough eggs to sustain gaunt red knots to their Arctic destination. What a nicely balanced equation.
Help keep the balance. Take Action. Sign this petition to protect horse shoe crabs and shorebirds today, thanks to Care2.
You can also help by keeping in touch with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which sets horse shoe crab fishing limits. Let them know you value horse crabs as something more than bait. Also, avoid eating whelk and tell people why.
image: seaaroundyou.org
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