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March 31, 2005
Red Knot May Be Candidate for ESA Listing Despite Horseshoe Crab Harvest Restrictions
A coalition of environmental groups, including New Jersey Audubon, ABC, Defenders of Wildlife, and National Audubon Society has begun proceedings to have the rufa subspecies of the Red Knot protected under the Endangered Species Act. Red Knot populations have declined globally in recent decades, but the rufa subspecies has fallen as much as 60% since the late-1980s.
This population winters in Tierra del Fuego and other parts of South America, migrating some 9,000 miles to its Arctic breeding grounds in Canada. Along the way, the birds concentrate in vast numbers at staging areas, making them particularly vulnerable. The Delaware Bay is the most important of these stop-off points, where the knots feed on the eggs of horseshoe crabs to sustain them on their long journey north.
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Overharvest of crabs for use as bait in conch and eel pots has been linked to the declines in Red Knots. The knot has evolved a relatively long lifespan and a commensurately low reproductive rate. Conservationists have predicted that although the population still numbers in the tens of thousands, it could be in peril if declines continue.
ABC and National Audubon Society have led efforts to protect horseshoe crabs, and the knots and other shorebirds that rely on their eggs. These efforts appear to be paying off, as the 2004 take of crabs reached its lowest levels in more than a decade. In 2004, crab landings in Delaware Bay, a critical place for both crabs and shorebirds, fell by 53% from 2003 levels. Coast-wide landings dropped to just 630,000 crabs. FWS will initiate a public comment period if they decide to proceed with the listing process.
Posted by Surfbirds at March 31, 2005 03:26 AM
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