Larchmont, NY – Long Island Sound’s horseshoe crab population is a big step closer to safety. The State Assembly passed A10140 early Friday evening, followed quickly by the Senate’s passage of companion bill S3185A.
The legislation bans the taking of the species for commercial and biomedical purposes. It allows takings for scientific and educational purposes, to be regulated by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
“This is a terrific victory for a threatened species,” said David Ansel, vice president of water protection for Save the Sound. “Horseshoe crabs have been virtually unchanged for 450 million years and survived five mass extinctions, but humans have brought them to the brink in just a few hundred years. It’s past time to stop their overfishing. Connecticut had already enacted legislation to protect horseshoe crabs, but its effectiveness was limited without bi-state protections. Now that New York has followed suit, all of Long Island Sound can be a safe habitat for this vulnerable species.
“We’re very grateful to New York’s senators and assembly members for taking action on behalf of this iconic species, especially bill sponsors Senator Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Glick. We urge Governor Hochul to sign the bill quickly.”
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