Governor vetoes Horseshoe Crab Protection Act

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday vetoed the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, passed by the State Legislature in June to ban the taking of horseshoe crabs from New York waters for commercial fishing or biomedical purposes. 

Hochul said the bill was “well intentioned” but the management of marine species is better left to the experts at the State Department of Environmental Conservation. The governor directed the DEC to evaluate and implement “further administrative measures to protect this species…”

The governor said DEC has “significant rules and regulations regarding commercial and recreational fishing in the State and adheres to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission management plans to ensure healthy coastal fisheries resources.

Under current state law, the horseshoe crab is a fishery managed by the DEC, which by regulation has imposed daily trip limits and an annual quota of 150,000 horseshoe crabs.

“DEC has already announced four lunar closures for the upcoming year to address concerns about overharvesting the horseshoe crab population,” Hochul wrote in her veto message.

“This bill could have unintended consequences on the management of other species such as whelk and eel, and could harm the commercial fishing industry and impair advancements in the biomedical field.”

Horseshoe crabs are an important bait for commercial fishermen of whelk and eels. 

Opposition to the bill among East End state lawmakers cited the economic impacts of the ban on commercial fishermen and the local economy.

The species evolved more than 200 million years ago. Horseshoe crabs are found from Nova Scotia to Mexico and live year-round in Long Island Sound. The species’ decline, due to harvesting and habitat loss, is documented by the Long Island Sound Study research.

Over the past three decades, the horseshoe crab population has crashed and their habitat is rapidly disappearing, according to a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity in February, asking the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to list the Atlantic horseshoe crab as an endangered or threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Overharvesting for bait in the 1990s decimated the populations along the Atlantic coast, the Center for Biological Diversity said in its petition. The populations have never recovered and remain at ⅓ of what they were before the overharvesting of the 1990s.

Horseshoe crabs are also harvested for biomedical purposes. Their blood is used to perform safety checks for a variety of vaccines, injectable drugs, intravenous solutions and implantable medical devices such as pacemakers. Pharmaceutical companies have been developing synthetic alternatives to the horseshoe crab’s blood, and the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) is in the process of adopting guidelines for synthetic alternatives to horseshoe crab blood. The guidelines are expected to become official in May. 

Hochul’s veto drew criticism from disappointed environmental advocates.

“Governor Hochul didn’t just drop the ball; she dropped the axe by vetoing the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act,” Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale said in a statement. 

Horseshoe crabs “face local extinction” due to the “archaic harvesting practice” of using their meat as bait. With Hochul’s veto, she said, “horseshoe crabs may be lost to history.”

“We are appalled that Governor Hochul squandered a rare and special opportunity to save an ancient species from extinction,” she said.

“This animal is critical for healthy ecosystems and fisheries,” said David Ansel, vice president of water protection for Save the Sound, an environmental education and advocacy group with offices in New York and Connecticut. “Horseshoe crabs and their eggs are an essential food source for migratory shorebirds, striped bass and other sportfish, sea turtles, and other species,” he said. 

“The persistent depletion of horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound is another indicator of an eroding ecosystem, and we can’t overstate the destabilizing impact of New York failing to provide this vulnerable species with the same protections they are afforded across the Sound in Connecticut and other neighboring coastal states,” Ansel said. He called on the New York State Legislature to pass these protections again in 2025, and on the governor to sign them into law.