Abstract
North American horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) have been continuously harvested in Massachusetts for the production of Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL); since the mid 1970s as bait for American eel (Anguilla rostrata); and since the mid 1990s as bait for whelk (Busycon ssp.). Harvest regulations were promulgated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in 1998 over concern for the observed decline of the Red Knot (Calidris canutus), a correlation between its feeding behavior (horseshoe crab eggs during the spring migration), and a decline in spawning horseshoe crabs likely due to harvesting for bait. Generally, horseshoe crab harvest for the production of LAL (biomedical use) is exempted from harvest regulations, since the animals bled for LAL production are returned alive to the ocean, and mortality is considered low. However, evidence is accumulating that mortality of bled horseshoe crabs is higher than originally thought (29 % vs 15 %); that females may have an impaired ability to spawn following bleeding and release; and that bled crabs become disoriented and debilitated for various lengths of time following capture, handling, bleeding, and release. This paper reviews the latest evidence for mortality and impairment of horseshoe crabs bled for biomedical use, especially in Massachusetts where horseshoe crab populations in small bays and inlets are particularly vulnerable, and since State regulations allow for using bled crabs as bait rather than returning to the site of capture. A novel management plan is proposed that can satisfy all affected parties as well as insure a continued supply of horseshoe crabs for the vitally important production of LAL. This plan may also serve as a model for other areas of the Atlantic coast where biomedical harvest occurs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anderson RL, Watson WH III, Chabot CC (2013) Sublethal behavioral and physiological effects of the biomedical bleeding process on the American horseshoe crab. Biol Bull 225:137–151
Associates of Cape Cod, Inc. and Jay Harrington v. Bruce Babbitt (2000) Civ. Act. No. 00-10549-RWZ
ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) Horseshoe Crab Plan Development Team (1998) Interstate fisheries management plan for horseshoe crabs. Fishery management report no. 32:1–58. Washington, DC http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/hscFMP.pdf. Accessed Dec 1998
ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) Horseshoe Crab Plan Development Team (2001) Addendum I to the interstate fisheries management plan for horseshoe crabs. Fishery management report no. 32a. Washington, DC http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/hscAddendumI.pdf. Accessed Apr 2001
ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) (2011a) Horseshoe Crab Biomedical Ad-hoc Working Group report. http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/biomedAdHocWGReport_Oct2011.pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2011
ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) (2011b) Summer meeting summary. http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/Meetings/Summer2011/2011SummerMeetingSummary.pdf. Accessed 4 Aug 2011
ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) Horseshoe Crab Review Team (2012) Review of the fishery management plan in 2011 for horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/hscFMPReview2012.pdf. Accessed May 2012
ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) Horseshoe Crab Stock Assessment Committee (2013) Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 2013 horseshoe crab stock assessment update. http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/52a88db80213HSC_StockAssessmentUpdate.pdf. Accessed 5 Aug 2013
Bang FB (1953) The toxic effect of a marine bacterium on Limulus and the formation of blood clots. Biol Bull 105:447–448
Carmichael RH, Rutecki D, Valiela I (2003) Abundance and population structure of the Atlantic horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus in Pleasant Bay, Cape Cod. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 246:225–239
Coates CJ, Bradford EL, Krome CA et al (2012) Effect of temperature on biochemical and cellular properties on captive Limulus polyphemus. Aquaculture 334:30–38
Cohen E, Bang FB, Levin J, Machalonis JJ, Pistole TG, Prendergast RA, Shuster C, Watson SW (eds) (1979) Biomedical applications of the horseshoe crab (Limulidae). Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York
Compatibility Determination Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex (2002) http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Compatibility%20Determinations/2002%20Horseshoe%20Crab%20Harvesting%20at%20Monomoy%20NWR.pdf. Accessed 27 Nov 2014
Daneshian M, Guenther A, Wendel A et al (2006) In vitro pyrogen test for toxic or immunomodulatory drugs. J Immunol Methods 313:169–175
Ding JL, Chai C, Pui AWM et al (1977) Expression of full length and deletion homologues of Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda Factor C in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: immunoreactivity and endotoxin binding. J Endotoxin Res 4:33–43
Fabie M (2009) Potential threats to horseshoe crabs on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Dissertation, Duke University
Faherty M (2012) Summary of Wellfleet Harbor horseshoe crab data, 2000–2012. http://www.massaudubon.org/content/download/11507/185193/file/Summary-of-Wellfleet-Harbor-Horseshoe-Crab-Data-2001-2012.pdf. Accessed 30 July 2014
Galler SR (1979) Limulus polyphemus, a target of opportunity. In: Cohen E, Bang FB, Levin J, Machalonis JJ, Pistole TG, Prendergast RA, Shuster C, Watson SW (eds) Biomedical applications of the horseshoe crab (Limulidae). Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York, pp 107–108
Grady SP, Valiela I (2007) Stage-structured matrix modeling and suggestions for management of Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, populations on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Estuar Coasts 29:685–698
Howell WH (1885) Observations upon the chemical composition and the coagulation of the blood of Limulus polyphemus, Callinectes hastatus, and Cucumaria sp. Johns Hopkins Circ 5:4
Hurton L, Berkson J (2006) Potential causes of mortality for horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) during the biomedical bleeding process. Fish Bull 104:293–298
Hurton L, Berkson J, Smith S (2005) Estimation of total hemolymph volume in the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus. Mar Freshw Behav Physiol 38:139–147
James-Pirri MJ (2002) Population demographics and spawning densities of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, within Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod Bay, and Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts. Final Report to National Park Service, Boston, MA
James-Pirri MJ (2012) Assessment of spawning horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) at Cape Cod National Seashore, 2008–2009. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/CACO/NRTR – 2012/573, National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado
James-Pirri MJ, Tuxbury K, Marino S et al (2005) Spawning densities, egg densities, size structure, and movement patterns of spawning horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, within four coastal embayments on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Estuaries 28:296–313
James-Pirri MJ, Veillette PA, Leschen AS (2012) Selected hemolymph constituents of captive, biomedically bled, and wild caught adult female American horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus). Mar Freshw Behav Physiol 45:281–289
Kurz W, James-Pirri MJ (2002) The impact of biomedical bleeding on horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, movement patterns on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Mar Freshw Behav Physiol 35:261–268
Leschen AS, Correia SJ (2010) Mortality of female horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) from biomedical bleeding and handling: implications for fisheries management. Mar Freshw Behav Physiol 43(2):135–147
Leschen AS, Grady SP, Valiela I (2005) Fecundity and spawning of the Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, in Pleasant Bay, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Mar Ecol 27:54–65
Levin J, Bang FB (1968) Clottable protein in Limulus: its localization and kinetics of its coagulation by endotoxin. Thromb Diath Haemorrh 19:186–197
Levin J, Hochstein HD, Novitsky TJ (2003) Clotting cells and Limulus amebocyte lysate: an amazing analytical tool. In: Shuster CN, Barlow RB, Brockmann JH (eds) The American horseshoe crab. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 310–340
Loeb L (1902) The blood cells and inflammatory process of Limulus. J Med Res 2:145–158
Lonza (2014) PyroGeneTM recombinant factor C endotoxin detection assay. http://bio.lonza.com/go/literature/44453. Accessed 30 Nov 2014
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (2006) Marine Fisheries Advisory. Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission approves immediate closure of horseshoe crab bait fishery in the Pleasant Bay/Little Pleasant Bay Complex. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/dmf/marinefisheriesnotices/2006/hc-bait-fishery-closure-071406.pdf. Accessed 14 Jul 2006
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (2008) Massachusetts 2008 compliance report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission–Horseshoe Crab. http://www.edc.uri.edu/nrs/classes/NRS555/assets/readings_2011/MADMF_2008_Leschen_asmfc__MA_hcrab_report.pdf. Accessed 22 Jul 2014
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (2009) Massachusetts 2009 compliance report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission–Horseshoe Crab. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dgf/dmf/programsandprojects/2009-asmfc-hcrab-report.pdf. Accessed 22 Jul 2014
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (2010) Massachusetts 2010 compliance report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission–Horseshoe Crab. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dgf/dmf/programsandprojects/2010-asmfc-hcrab-report.pdf. Accessed 22 Jul 2014
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (2011) Massachusetts 2011 compliance report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission–Horseshoe Crab. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dgf/dmf/programsandprojects/2011-asmfc-hcrab-report.pdf. Accessed on 22 Jul 2014
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (2012) Massachusetts 2012 compliance report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission–Horseshoe Crab. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dgf/dmf/programsandprojects/2012-asmfc-hcrab-report.pdf. Accessed on 22 Jul 2014
Mayer AG (1914) The effects of temperature on tropical marine animals. Carnegie Inst Washington Publ 183:1–25
Mizrahi DS, Peters KA (2009) Relationship between sandpipers and horseshoe crab in Delaware Bay: a synthesis. In: Tanacredi JT, Botton ML, Smith D (eds) Biology and conservation of horseshoe crabs. Springer, New York, pp 65–87
Novitsky TJ (1991) Discovery to commercialization: the blood of the horseshoe crab. Oceanus 27:13–18
Novitsky TJ (2009) Biomedical applications of Limulus amebocyte lysate. In: Tanacredi JT, Botton ML, Smith D (eds) Biology and conservation of horseshoe crabs. Springer, New York, pp 315–329
Novitsky TJ, Dawson ME, Paus EJ (2002) Artificial bait. US Patent 6,391,295, 21 May 2002
Rudkin DM, Young GA, Nowlan GS (2008) The oldest horseshoe crab: a new xiphosurid from late Ordovician Konsevat-Lagerstatten deposits Manitoba, Canada. Palaeontology 51:1–9
Rudloe A (1979) Limulus polyphemus: a review of the ecologically significant literature. In: Cohen E, Bang FB, Levin J, Machalonis JJ, Pistole TG, Prendergast RA, Shuster C, Watson SW (eds) Biomedical applications of the horseshoe crab (Limulidae). Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York, pp 27–35
Rudloe A (1983) The effect of heavy bleeding on mortality of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, in the natural environment. J Invertebr Pathol 42:167–176
Rutecki D, Carmichael RH, Valiela I (2004) Magnitude of harvest of Atlantic horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts. Estuaries 27:179–187
Shuster CN (2003) A blue blood: the circulatory system. In: Shuster CN, Barlow RB, Brockmann JH (eds) The American horseshoe crab. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 276–287
Shuster CN, Sekiguchi K (2003) Growing up takes about ten years and eighteen stages. In: Shuster CN, Barlow RB, Brockmann JH (eds) The American horseshoe crab. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 103–132
Smith DR, Millard MJ, Carmichael RH (2009) Comparative status and assessment of Limulus polyphemus with emphasis on the New England and Delaware Bay populations. In: Tanacredi JT, Botton ML, Smith D (eds) Biology and conservation of horseshoe crabs. Springer, New York, pp 361–386
University of Delaware (2013) Bait alternative. http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2013/may/artificial-bait-052913.html. Accessed 29 May 2013
Walls EA, Berkson J (2003) Effects of blood extraction on horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus). Fish Bull 101:457–459
Widener JW, Barlow RB (1999) Decline of a horseshoe crab population on Cape Cod. Biol Bull 197(2):300–302
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Novitsky, T.J. (2015). Biomedical Implications for Managing the Limulus polyphemus Harvest Along the Northeast Coast of the United States. In: Carmichael, R., Botton, M., Shin, P., Cheung, S. (eds) Changing Global Perspectives on Horseshoe Crab Biology, Conservation and Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19542-1_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19542-1_28
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-19541-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-19542-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)