MYSTIC, Conn. — October 30, 3014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board has approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board maintained a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2015 season. Based on the allocation mechanism established in Addendum VII, the following quotas were set for the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, which harvest horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin:
*Virginia harvest refers to harvest east of the COLREGS line only
The Board chose a status quo management program due to the lack of compatible data on horseshoe crab abundance. The ARM Framework, established through Addendum VII, incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized harvest levels for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. The horseshoe crab abundance estimate has been based on data from the Benthic Trawl Survey conducted by Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The Benthic Trawl Survey was not conducted in 2013 or 2014 due to a lack of funding. The Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee reviewed other available data sources, but did not find a suitable option for the ARM Framework. The Technical Committee will continue to investigate other options, while the Commission and states seek long-term funding sources for the Benthic Trawl Survey. The optimized harvest level will be reevaluated annually, allowing for management to adapt to the changes in the population levels of horseshoe crabs and shorebirds as a result of the regulations.
The Board also nominated Dr. Malcolm Rhodes, Governor Appointee from South Carolina as Board Vice-chair. For more information, please contact Marin Hawk, FMP Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or mhawk@asmfc.org.