Best places to see Horseshoe Crabs

HORSESHOE CRABS : current situation and conflicts

Horseshoe crabs are a prehistoric throwback, a survivor for 300-450 million years. But, they're in trouble now because people have been wiping them out. Native Americans taught the first European settlers to use the crabs as fertilizer. And why not? They found piles of the crabs on beaches--enough to use as fertilizer and animal feed up until the 1930s. By then populations had declined, but that's not what stopped the use. Instead it was commercial fertilizers and complaints about the smell of rotting crabs.

In the 1980s commercial fishermen started catching horseshoe crabs to use as bait to catch whelk, conch and eel. Eels are attracted to the smell of females with eggs, making the impact of the eel fishery particularly devastating. (Remove a male and another male can fertilize eggs; If you remove a female, there are fewer eggs and offspring.) The Ecological Research and Development Group (aka Horseshoe.org) devised a substitute fake female horseshoe crab bait, but fishermen have been somewhat resisitant.

Horseshoe crabs are also used in medical resarch. Most importantly, the horseshoe crab's strange blue blood clots when it finds certain toxins, so vaccine makers use it to find bad batches. Researchers take about 30% of the crab's blood, then return them to the sea, where most--85-97% survive.

The horseshoe crab has many natural enemies, too. Sea turtles eat them. Shorebirds dig up and eat eggs. Ironically, it's the importance of the horseshoe crab to the diet of the red knot that has gotten it some attention and conservation.

The horseshoe crab seen in the United States, Limulus polyphemus, is one of four surviving species. It lives from Maine to Mexico, but its biggest habitat is around Chesapeake Bay.

HORSESHOE CRABS VIEWING TIPS

The most spectacular Horseshoe crab event is the spring mating, which happens up and down the east coast for about a month in spring. Hundreds of horseshoe crabs pile on each other at high tides. "The full moon of June" is tradtionally the best time to see them.

If you see a horseshoe crab on its back, turn it over. They have a hard time flipping themselves.

FAQ

Are they going to try to eat me?

No. Perfectly harmless. They don't bite.

Can we eat them?

No. They have blue blood that would apparently taste gross.

BEST PLACES TO SEE HORSESHOE CRABS

Click on the emblem for each region to jump to places to see the animal there

	Northeast - See other animals in the Northeast
	Pickering Beach, DE Horseshoe Crabs Pickering Beach in Delaware often has the highest densities of horseshoe crabs in the U.S. Geological Survey's long-running census of the prehistoric crabs in Delaware Bay. In 2007 researchers counted a whopping 27 horseshoe crabs per square meter at Pickering Beach during the peak of spawning season (May-June) at high tide. The beach is off Route 9 on conveniently named Pickering Beach Road.
	Slaughter Beach, DE Horseshoe Crabs Slaughter Beach in Delaware has some of the highest densities of mating horseshoe crabs in the U.S. Geological Survey's study of horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus. Some claim that the town got its name from all the horseshoe crabs that die when trying to mate. Birders also visit nearby Milford Neck Wildlife Area, which attracts migrating birds who eat horseshoe crab eggs.
	James Farm Ecological Preserve - DE Researchers recently discovered that horseshoe crabs--long thought to be most concentrated in Deleware Bay, show up in Delaware's Inland Bays in big numbers, too. James Farm Ecological Preserve on Indian River Bay and Holts Landing had the highest populations, researcher Kathleen McCole found.
	Highs Beach, NJ Horseshoe Crabs High Beach has one of the   highest densities of horseshoe crabs in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's long-running census of the prehistoric crabs in Delaware Bay. In 2007 researchers counted a 21 horseshoe crabs per square meter at Highs Beach, which is just south of Highs Beach. The crabs lay eggs May-June at high tide, especially during a full or new moon. The census needs volunteers.
	South Cape Shore Lab, NJ Horseshoe Crabs South Cape Shore Lab has one of the   highest densities of horseshoe crabs in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's long-running census of the prehistoric crabs in Delaware Bay. In 2007 researchers counted a 24 horseshoe crabs per square meter at South Bay Shore Lab, which is just south of Highs Beach. The crabs lay eggs May-June at high tide, especially during a full or new moon. The census needs volunteers.
	Horseshoe Crabs Mating at Pelham Bay Park Horseshoe crabs mate on beaches across the East Coast in May and June at high tides. The NYC Parks Department sometimes offers tours. map »
	Flag Pond Nature Park, MD, Horseshoe Crabs Flag Ponds Nature Park in Calvert County, Maryland attracts a large number of horseshoe crabs during their May-June spawning season. This is also one of the release sites for horseshoe crabs students raise in school in a statewide program. The park is north of Calvert Cliffs.
	Selby Beach, MD Horseshoe Crabs Selby Beach attracts horseshoe crabs, who lay eggs here during nighttime high tides, especially during full or new moons, in May and early June. The area was part of Maryland's survey of horseshoe crabs sites.
	Turtle Point, MD Horseshoe Crabs Turtle Point is one of only three sites in Maryland surveyed for horseshoe crabs. This private community established a sanctuary at the end of Brice Road.
	Cove Island Park Horseshoe Crab Soundwaters, an environmental education organization on Long Island Sound, holds a horseshoe crab festival at Cove Island Park in Stamford, CT. Volunteers then set out to count the horseshoe crabs at the east and west beaches in the park and at nearby Weed Beach and Southfield/Stamford Beach. Cove Island Park, 1281 Cove Rd, Stamford, CT
	Monomoy NWR - Cape Cod Horseshoe crab populations are in a dramatic decline around Cape Cod, down perhaps 90% in some areas in just a few decades. But researchers have shown that Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge has some of the highest densitites left. Mid-May to Mid-June, look for piles of Limulus polyphemus, especially around  the full moon and high tides.
	Pleasant Bay - Cape Cod Pleasant Bay is one of the strongest spots for the dwindling population of horseshoe crabs on Cape Cod. Researchers have shown that the number of Limulus polyphemus showing up on the Cape May - July is down 80%.
	South - See other aninals Down South
	Raleigh Bay, NC Most of the spawning action with horseshoe crabs is up north in Delaware Bay. But the regular government Shallow Water Trawl Survey shows that Raleigh Bay, off Ocracoake, has the highest densities of the harbors checked on the southern coast.
	Dauphin Island, AL Alabama is the furthest reach of the horseshoe crab population in the states, though strays sometimes show up in Texas. Horseshoecrab.org lists Dauphin Island at one Alabama site, noting its on the Mobile Bay side. The other barrier islands out here have them, too--especially in the spring mating. Horseshoecrab.org mentions Fort Morgan (west of Gulf shores).  Ask the folks at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, which also has excursions into the dunes and marsh, for Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd, Dauphin Island, AL (251) 861-2141
	Florida - See other animals in Florida
	Fort De Soto Park Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County gets some heavy horseshoe crab action. This is one of the top county's in the state, according to an official tally of public-reported sightings. Over six years people reported seeing horseshoe crabs in Pinellas 404 times, including 7 times with 1,000 or more horseshoe crabs.