Yesterday, the New Jersey Senate passed unanimously S1331 which would put in place a moratorium on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs. The Assembly previously passed A2260. Now, it is up to the Governor to sign the bill into law.
As noted in my previous entry , horseshoe crab eggs are vital to the survival of the red knot as well as other shorebirds. The red knot, without protection, is expected to become extinct by 2010. It is with great hope that this moratorium on the red knots’ food will reverse the path towards extinction.
That the red knot is on the road to extinction and that the New Jersey legislature had to enact a ban is a very sad commentary. It is a sad commentary because current law was not enough to protect the red knot and that some on the Marine Fisheries Council decided to act in short sighted self interest instead of following the science and ultimately in their own long term interest.
That a ban was necessary is a sad because the red knot is listed as threatened under New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act. It is also listed under the United States Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Under both laws it is unlawful to “take” a listed species. The definition of ‘take’ is very broad. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, “it shall be unlawful at any time, by any means or in any manner, to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture or kill,” a listed species. One would think this was enough to protect these birds, but it is not. One would think that protecting the food source for an endangered species would be a paramount protection under these acts, but apparently it is not.
As the protections that were in place are not enough, the moratorium had to be pursued. Thankfully the sponsors of the bills and the environmental advocates moved quickly and courageously to see that red knot would not be another victim of short sighted policies.