The horseshoe crab: The battle for a true multiple-use resource

The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is the target of a commercial bait fishery that historically has lacked coordinated, coastwide monitoring and regulation. Because the catch has increased substantially in recent years, agencies have been increasingly pressured to manage the fishery more intens ively The diversity of interests involved (birders, environmentalists, comm ercial fishers, biomedical companies, coastal residents, and the Delaware B ay ecotourism industry) makes management especially challenging. In particu lar, the conflict between environmentalists and commercial fishers has been gaining public attention. With stronger management, the horseshoe crab pop ulation likely could meet the basic needs of ail users, including fishers. Further delay or avoidance of coordinated, coastwide management increases t he likelihood of a serious conservation problem that would injure the horse shoe crab population as well as various stakeholders and the species depend ent on it (especially migratory shorebirds). The horseshoe crab, which has survived relatively unchanged for the past 350 million years, now is at the center of a resource tug of war. Regardless of our actions, the species is Likely to persist beyond the current conflict. However, our desire and abi lity to manage the population will determine to what extent we will be able to meet society's many needs for horseshoe crabs.