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Oct. 9, 2003

PUBLIC MEETING ON HORSESHOE CRABS OCTOBER 30

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (commission) will host a public meeting on proposed changes to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 4 p.m. in Absecon, Atlantic County. The proposed changes are designed to further the conservation of horseshoe crab and migratory shorebird populations in and around Delaware Bay.

Amendments include options to reduce horseshoe crab harvest, implement seasonal closures and revise biomedical and monitoring requirements. In New Jersey, changes include capping the state’s annual harvest at 150,000 crabs and prohibiting the harvest and landing of horseshoe crabs from May 1 to June 7. The state would also have the opportunity to allow crabs destined for the bait industry to be bled for biomedical purposes, thus helping reduce overall mortality associated with the process of bleeding.

The meeting will be held at the Atlantic County Library – Galloway Township, 306 East Jimmie Leeds Road in Absecon. Public hearings will also be held in Delaware (Oct. 21) and Maryland (Oct. 29).

For a copy of the proposed changes, visit the commission's website at www.asmfc.org or call (202) 289-6400. Comments will be accepted until Nov. 7, 2003 and should be addressed to Fishery Management Plan Coordinator Braddock Spear at 1444 Eye Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005. He may also be reached by fax at (202) 289-6051 or by e-mail at bspear@asmfc.org.


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