New Jersey Limits Horseshoe Crab Harvesting by Limuli Laboratories

Conservation groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity have filed a petition with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection demanding enforcement of the state's 2008 moratorium on horseshoe‑crab collection. The petition alleges that Limuli Laboratories, a Cape May County biomedical firm, is violating the law by injuring or killing thousands of crabs during blood‑harvesting and returning survivors to the Delaware Bay instead of the waters where they were taken, contrary to the requirement that they be released unharmed.

Horseshoe‑crab blood, which contains Limulus amebocyte lysate, is used to test vaccines and other injectables for bacterial and fungal contamination. While a synthetic alternative exists, the practice remains widespread, with about a million crabs harvested globally each year. The species supports migrating shorebirds such as the federally protected red knot, whose eggs are a critical food source. Advocates warn that continued overharvesting threatens both the crabs and the coastal ecosystem that depends on them.