Horseshoe Crab Conservation
Soundly Caring celebrates and protects horseshoe crabs. Our work is mainly based at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT, but it also includes the Ash Creek Tidal Estuary at St. Mary’s by the Sea and, on occasion, Napatree Point Conservation Area in Westerly, Rhode Island.
As a Citizen Scientist and Seaside Park Beach Captain for Project Limulus, I conduct spawning surveys and tag horseshoe crabs each spring. Project Limulus is a community-based research program investigating the population ecology of horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound, founded in 1998 by Dr. Jennifer H. Mattei.
Spawning horseshoe crabs at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT | Video: ©2023 kHyal
A keystone species for biodiversity
Horseshoe crab eggs are a critcal food source for migrating shorebirds.
Functionally extinct
Overharvesting for fishing bait and the biomedical industry's practice of bleeding for vaccine testing has made the Atlantic horseshoe crab functionally extinct in Long Island Sound. Despite outliving the dinosaurs by millions of years, this keystone species is now in crisis due entirely to human activities.
Vulnerable to toxins
Microplastics and toxins infiltrate American horseshoe crabs through multiple pathways in the coastal ecosystem, creating a chain of contamination, for example, when horseshoe crabs consume filter-feeding clams that have accumulated microplastics from seawater. This contamination then spreads through the food web as shorebirds feed on horseshoe crab eggs, demonstrating how these harmful substances move through multiple species and feeding levels in the food chain.
Threatened by marine debris
Beyond micro- and nanoplastics, horseshoe crabs face additional harm from ocean debris. As they make their seasonal journey from deeper waters to beach shorelines to reproduce, they can become entangled in plastic bags, packaging, fishing lines, and balloon strings.
Harvesting horseshoe crabs is now Illegal in Connecticut
Since October 1, 2023, harvesting horseshoe crabs has been banned in our state. Through Public Act 23-6, the law allows the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to issue permits for limited harvesting only for scientific and educational purposes (if deemed not to harm the overall horseshoe crab population).
Saving Long Island’s horseshoe crabs
Save The Sound spring newsletter, 2025.
Cover story: Protecting Horeshoe Crabs
Read the article by kHyal (Pages 4-5)
Art, Education, Advocacy and Activism
My affection for horseshoe crabs is lifelong. I began using their exoskeletons in my art in the 80s. My first exhibition of that work was curated by Margaret Bodell at Art in Heaven Gallery in 1987. Horseshoe crabs have since become an integral part of my life and work, along with the marine debris that pollutes their habitats.
Often misunderstood, these fascinating creatures have thrived for over 450 million years. They are not really “crabs” and are more closely related to arachnids (scorpions and spiders). They don’t bite or sting. The Atlantic Horseshoe Crab has gained some protections in recent years, including a ban on hand-harvesting in Connecticut. Unfortunately, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill to protect horseshoe crabs in December 2024. (I’m telling every horseshoe crab I see in CT to steer clear of Long Island!)
Prehysteric Forms
Below the shimmery surface of the sea, at great depths. Beyond the blackest hole in outer space, infinitesimal. From a place where matter takes the most advanced of primitive shapes. Celebrated are these forms at times, like the Faberge egg. In other circumstances, their simple, complex, untouched absolute beauty is defaced with garish adornments or merely ignored, degrading efficiency and perfection, attaching human ideas where they are not. Occasionally, we are allowed to view such wonders. They are somehow yielded into this time warp, and with great misunderstanding. Their grace exceeds the happenings of everyday life.
— kHyal, 1987
Prehysteric Forms exhibition statement
Art in Heaven Gallery, New Haven
My brother and I at the beach. Illustration ©2024 kHyal from a film still by Chuck Braun.
Photocopier self-portrait with bejeweled horseshoe crab molt. ©1987 kHyal
“Prehysteric Forms” horseshoe crab sculpture exhibition flyer. (video stills, photocopier, Amiga computer, stickers, rubber stamps). ©1987 kHyal
“Blue.” Ocean plastics and painted horseshoe crab exoskeleton found at Seaside Park, and reclaimed plastic horse. ©2022 kHyal
Horseshoe crab tagging with Professor Jo-Marie Kasinak of Sacred Heart University at Stratford Point in 2023.
Teaching kids at Seaside Park about horseshoe crabs. Photo: ©2024 Karl Heine
The Sound of Plastic promo for ocean plastic pollution and horseshoe crab conservation installation at AmFab Open Studios, 2024.
“True inclusivity applies to all lifeforms.” Horseshoe crab advocacy apparel. ©2022 kHyal
Teaching visitors about horseshoe crabs at The Sound of Plastic installation during AmFab Open Studios. Photo: ©2024 Jackie Lightfield
Horseshoe Crabs in the News
May 21, 2025 – The Southern Maryland Chronicle
Ancient crabs begin their annual migration to Maryland shores
May 7, 2025 – Center for Biological Diversity
Scorecard ranks pharmaceutical companies on ending use of horseshoe crab blood
May 7, 2025 – NJ Spotlight News
More drugmakers pivot away from crab blood in response to conservation pressure
May 6, 2025 – STAT News (Pharmalot)
Pharma faces growing scrutiny for using crab blood in drug safety testing
May 2025 – ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Management Board
Presentations reveal data and regulatory considerations for 2025 crab season
May 2025 – East Hampton Natural Resources Dept.
It's mating season: officials remind public to give spawning crabs space
May 2025 – ASMFC Press Release
Board approves Addendum IX to revise crab harvest rules
April 14, 2025 – Friends of Animals
Help Massachusetts ban the killing of horseshoe crabs for bait
January 13, 2025 – Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Hochul Vetoes Horseshoe Crab Harvest Ban
September 20, 2024 – TBR NewsMedia
Advocacy builds around New York State horseshoe crab protections bill
August 20, 2024 – Center for Biological Diversity
Maryland court greenlights lawsuit seeking transparency on crab mortality data
August 20, 2024 – Sanibel Captiva Island Reporter
Public encouraged to report horseshoe crab sightings
August 11, 2024 – CBS Sunday Morning
TV segment explores the medical marvel of crab blood and conservation urgency
August 4, 2024 – Riverhead Local
Environmentalists urge NY governor to sign horseshoe crab protection bill
August 2, 2024 – TBR NewsMedia
Exploring a brighter future for horseshoe crabs as conservation gains steam
July 30, 2024 – Seafood Source
USP's approval of synthetic testing alternatives brings hope for crabs
July 29, 2024 – NJ Spotlight News
New drug testing rules could ease harvesting pressure on crabs
July 27, 2024 – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Despite spawns, NJ horseshoe crab numbers remain historically low
July 8, 2024 – Mass.gov
Massachusetts boosts protections with seasonal no-harvest period
July 1, 2024 – Christian Science Monitor
Artists help rebrand horseshoe crabs as coastal keystone species
June 17, 2024 – Daily Kos
Crabs and Red Knots continue ancient spring migration ritual in Delaware Bay
June 7, 2024 – Harlem World Magazine
New York Assembly passes bill banning crab harvests, with few exceptions
June 1, 2024 – The Baltimore Banner
Report: Maryland may be concealing crab deaths tied to blood collection
May 31, 2024 – EarthSky
Crab eggs fuel epic journeys of migrating birds like the Red Knot
May 29, 2024 – The Independent (UK)
Lawsuit highlights mass crab deaths after blood harvest in Maryland
May 29, 2024 – CoastTV
Environmentalists sue Maryland over withheld crab mortality data
May 26, 2024 – Nantucket Current
Hundreds of horseshoe crabs spotted during peak spawn on Nantucket
May 24, 2024 – TBR NewsMedia
NY considers new regulations to protect dwindling crab populations
May 22, 2024 – ABC 47 WMDT
Lawsuit filed to force Maryland to disclose crab injury and death data
May 22, 2024 – Center for Biological Diversity
Lawsuit filed to release data on crab deaths from biomedical use in MD
May 21, 2024 – Southern Environmental Law Center
Red Knots and crabs: Migratory shorebird depends on ancient creature
May 20, 2024 – Maryland DNR
Horseshoe crab spawning season kicks off across Maryland beaches
May 14, 2024 – ABC 15 News
SCDNR research shows salt marshes may be critical to crab survival
April 22, 2024 – News 12
New York celebrates Earth Day with increased calls for horseshoe crab protections
April 17, 2024 – Gotham Gazette
Opinion: New York must lead on horseshoe crab protection legislation
March 14, 2024 – Riverhead Local
Lawmakers reintroduce bill to end horseshoe crab harvesting in NY
August 11, 2023 – Connecticut Inside Investigator
Harvesting horseshoe crabs is now illegal in Connecticut
