Since the program’s inception, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore have tagged several thousand horseshoe crabs. The tagging of these crabs has occurred at locations in Chesapeake Bay (as far north as the Bay Bridge), Maryland's coastal bays, and at Bio-Whittaker Inc., a horseshoe crab bleeding facility located in Chincoteague, Virginia. If you should find a tagged horseshoe crab, record the tag number, location of observance, and condition of animal, and report this information to the phone number on the tag or to Sheila Eyler at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (sheila_eyler@fws.gov). It is not necessary to remove the tag. Those who report a tagged horseshoe crab will receive a reward.

Additionally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a tagging study from 2001-2002. The study was used to see if horseshoe crabs return to the same beaches to spawn during the same season and between seasons. This information is important to fishery managers whom are trying to sustain horseshoe crab populations over time. During the study upwards of 7,000 crabs were tagged from Pickering Beach in Delaware. For more information on this study visit http://marylandfisheries.fws.gov/horseshoe_crab.htm.