Horshoe Crab Ban Up For Renewal

TRENTON, N.J. - State regulators are expected to vote Monday on a measure to extend a moratorium on horseshoe crab fishing indefinitely in order to protect the threatened shorebirds that feed on the crabs' eggs.
The ban was proposed in December by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which says the plummeting number of birds, called red knots, can be blamed on overharvesting of the horseshoe crabs.
But fishermen who harvest the crabs, which are used as bait to catch conch or eel, say that less drastic steps such as limiting the amount of crabs caught or ensuring that fishermen only harvest male crabs, should be implemented instead.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--threatenedshorebi0211feb11,0,3482744.story

There's always a delicate balance between fishermen and the environment.