SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Horseshoe crabs are creatures with a lot of surprises under their big shells, but the population is considered at risk by some wildlife organizations. Now, lawmakers in New Jersey are working to protect them.
While the sea creatures are called "crabs," they are more closely related to spiders and scorpions and have been walking the sea floor for hundreds of millions of years. They're a key life-sustaining species for other birds, reptiles and fish in the Delaware Bay.
"We do know that the population is going down, especially the females. There are many more male horseshoe crabs than females, and we really need to keep our ecosystem intact," said Burlington County state Sen. Jean Stanfield.
According to Stanfield, the blood of horsehoe crabs was also a key part of developing the COVID-19 vaccines. She wants to extend the rules protecting them, “so that we're not over-fishing or over-harvesting them," she said.
Stanfield's bill cleared the New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy Committee with bipartisan support and should be coming up for a full vote soon.
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