How do you tag Horseshoe Crab? (and why this is important!)

In this episode we're going to ask answer the question “How do you tag a horseshoe Crab? But more importantly look at why are we tagging these horseshoe crabs? What do we hope to learn by tagging and what mighty be some possible solutions to the issues of horseshoe crab harvest by both fishermen and pharmaceutical companies. This is part 3 of a 3 part series on Horsehoe Crabs. This volunteer group is hosted by the American Littoral Society is gathering to tag horseshoe crabs using US fish and wildlife service tags and protocols. Shane Godshall from the American Littoral Society and Habitat Restoration Project manager will be leading us in this activity and is assisted by Toni Rose Tablante: Habitat Restoration Technician and many volunteers from the area.
One person in each group is designated as a recorder who will write down tag numbers, sex of the horseshoe crab, overall health and any other observations they may make concerning the horseshoe crab they tagged.
Horseshoe Crabs may have a bunch of harmless non-parastic hitch-hikers like barnacles and various molluks. Males can easily be distinguished from females. Males are smaller than females, have a front concave curvature at the front of their prostoma that allows them to grab onto the female from behind. Males also have distinctive boxing glove like structures at the end of their front pair of legs. Females are larger than males, lack the curve at the front of their prostoma and lack they club like endings on their front pair of legs.
To tag the horseshoe crab a small hole is drilled with a hand tool through this left side of the prostoma. The tag structure is pushed into this hole until it clicks. On large females it is a little bit easier to do than on the males because of their size. The drilling does not seem to elicit any real response in the horsecrab the you might see a little of the blue blood ooze out. The tags themselves don't hurt or impede the movement of the horseshoe crabs but they're still visible enough for people. If you find a horseshoe crab with a tag on you can go to the website on the tag it and follow directions for reporting it. You should leave the horseshoe crab where you found it. If it is upside down you can turn it over and steer it back to the water but dont pick it up by its tail or telson. This could damage the crab. Horseshoe crabs are being Tagged so that we can learn more about their populations. This tagging information can tell us more about the life of these horseshoe crabs, their seasonal movements changes in numbers and more data about their biology . Data can be used to establish or reset harvesting quotas. Horseshoe crabs can be considered a keystone species. Many other species including bird populations are dependent upon a horseshoe crab eggs for their survival and/or migration success. The endangered red knot is the poster child of this relationship.
Horseshoe crab numbers fell precipitously until the intervention by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission who began to regulate Harvest in 1998 . The greatest Demand on horseshoe crabs is by the pharmaceutical industry for the life-saving blue blood that is used to detect presence of pathogenic bacteria in virtually all vaccines and all prosthetic devices produced today. While this industry is heavily regulated and horseshoe crabs are returned alive to the sea after 30% of their blood is harvested there is still some question about their survival rates and their ability to lay eggs after words again tagging information I help answer these questions Apparently there is no better bait than horseshoe crabs in the Conch and eel Fisheries for baitnig pots or traps and are most highly desired for bait by these fisheries. .
This fish and wildlife sponsored tagging effort will provide immediate data for species management and harvesting quotas.
there is hope that we can invent an artificial product to detect pathogenic bacteria that is still that is as good as the horseshoe crab blood. while some novel compounds have been produced the are if not entered through the supply chain or been approved or accepted for wide use. in addition to regulating the Harvest for heel and Welk conch Fisheries scientists are working on trying to find an artificial bait that could work just as well.

for more information:
American Littoral Society
www.littoralsociety.org