Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs

"The red knot was once the most numerous shorebird in North America. A century ago, market hunting decimated the red knot's population and despite a massive drop in hunting today they are vanishing faster than ever before. In spring, migrating red knots stop at the Delaware Bay to refuel on the eggs of horseshoe crabs. They eat as many as 24,000 eggs per day, doubling their weight within two weeks. But horseshoe crabs are harvested as bait for conch and eel. "Since the 1990s, over-harvesting of horseshoe crabs has caused the supply of eggs to plummet and red knot numbers in Delaware Bay have declined from a high of more than 100,000 birds in the 1980s to fewer than 15,000 today." If overharvesting continues the red knot may become extinct as early as 2010."

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Help support limits on horseshoe crab harvesting to protect the eggs that migrating red knots depend on for food.

• Avoid disturbing shorebirds during migration—keep dogs leashed and stay back from flocks feeding on beaches.

• Volunteer for or donate to beach monitoring and restoration programs that protect nesting and stopover sites.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND HOW TO HELP

Visit:

• Delaware Riverkeeper, Monitoring Horseshoe Crabs, Tagging, & Rescue

• American Littoral Society - community horseshoe crab tagging

• Delaware Audubon, Part of Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition

• Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN)