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The Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crabs was approved by the ASMFC on October 22, 1998. The FMP is designed as a tool to guide individual States to conserve and protect the horseshoe crab resource at a population that sustains its ecological and economic benefits. Contained within the FMP are requirements for managing the horseshoe crab harvests and monitoring populations.

Requirements of the Horseshoe Crab FMP Addendum 1 include:

  • States must reduce horseshoe crab landings to 25% below their reference period landings.
  • State with more restrictive harvest limits are encouraged to maintain those limits.
  • Encourage the NMFS to establish a horseshoe crab sanctuary at the mouth of the Delaware Bay estuary.
Recommendations of Horseshoe Crab FMP Addendum 2 include:
  • Allow for the voluntary transfer of harvest quotas between states.
The complete Coast-wide FMP for horseshoe crabs can be found at ASMFC

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Updated July 29, 2005