WHEREAS, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has proposed emergency and regular regulations intended to limit the take of Horseshoe crabs over and above regulations already in effect; and

WHEREAS, Horseshoe crabs are an important natural resource of the State of Delaware and the other states of the Atlantic seaboard; and

WHEREAS, Horseshoe crabs play multiple roles as an important food source for migrating shore bird species, the only viable bait source for Delaware's commercial conch fishery and an indispensable bait source for Delaware's commercial eel fishery; and

WHEREAS, Atlantic Coast states, including Delaware, are members of the Atlantic States Marine Resources Commission ("ASMRC"). The ASMRC considers the status of marine fisheries stocks, including the Horseshoe crab, and sets resource management goals and restrictions incumbent upon the member states; and

WHEREAS, in 1998, the ASMRC set stringent quotas on Horseshoe crab harvests, and Delaware set further restrictions on harvests and methods of take to stabilize Horseshoe crab populations; and

WHEREAS, prior to 1998, little direct research was available on the population of Horseshoe crabs, prompting ASMRC to promote such research as well as implement the conservation measures; and

WHEREAS, that research now presents the best scientific data available to DNREC, independent researchers and the public. The research indicates that Horseshoe crab populations have stabilized since 1998; and

WHEREAS, DNREC and New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection requested that the ASMFC support Delaware and New Jersey in implementing additional limitations on harvests, resulting in the ASMFC declining to adopt more stringent regulations at this time; and

WHEREAS, researchers from the U.S. Department of the Interior informed the ASMFC's decision not to act by stating "claims of Horseshoe crab stock collapse are not based in fact, and decision makers should not use such claims to justify policy changes;" and

WHEREAS, though it is undeniable that shorebird populations, particularly the Red Knot, have shown severe declines in recent years, no one source can be pinpointed for the cause of that decline; and

WHEREAS, these shore birds travel from South America to the Arctic Tundra and back, encountering well-documented diseases, pollution, and other life threatening conditions throughout their travel, staging locations and summering grounds; and

WHEREAS, the British Trust for Ornithology has studied the relationship between shorebirds and Horseshoe crabs for more than six years. That research indicates that the abundance of Horseshoe crab eggs on the Delaware Bay shores is sufficient for the needs of shorebirds that arrive here; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware Shorebird Monitoring Team has proposed further research before any definitive explanation of whether environmental factors in the Delaware Bay region, of which Horseshoe crabs egg density is one, are leading to bird breeding problems or if factors outside of this area are to blame; and

WHEREAS, DNREC cannot show that the proposed emergency regulations are intended to "deal with an actual or imminent threat to the Horseshoe crab population" as required under 7 Del.C., §2702; and

WHEREAS, DNREC cannot show that any of the proposed regulations, if directed at preservation of shorebird populations, will actually accomplish that goal; and

WHEREAS, if these proposed regulations are implemented, they will essentially eliminate the availability of bait for the commercial conch and eel fisheries and cause severe financial and economic hardship to those involved in and associated with these fisheries.

NOW THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the 142^nd General Assembly, with the approval of the Governor, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is hereby directed to cease activities required for the implementation of emergency and regular regulations further limiting the harvest of Horseshoe crabs until such time as there is an imminent or actual threat to the Horseshoe crab population or a direct link between such regulations and the population concerns of shorebirds stopping in the Delaware Bay region can be established by scientifically supportable evidence.

Author: Senator Henry