[CT Birds] Great News, Horseshoe Crab Moritorium Proposed for New Jersey

[Milan Bull]

Just February 27th , the New Jersey Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 5-0 forwarded the Horseshoe Crab harvest moratorium for vote by the full Assembly.  The Committee members include Assemblymen Doug Fisher, Nelson Albano, John Amadeo, Marcia Karrow, and L. Harvey Smith.  Special thanks to Assemblymen John McKeon and Doug Fisher are merited!
We urgently need your help moving this legislation through the Senate Environment Committee.  Please take the time to call Senate committee members and ask them for them to move the legislation out of committee on March 10.  Please send an email to conservation at njaudubon.org<mailto:conservation at njaudubon.org> to report any conversations that you had including commitments and results.
Senator Jeff Van Drew (609)-465-0700 or senvandrew at njleg.org<mailto:senvandrew at njleg.org>
Senator John Adler (856)-489-3442 senadler at njleg.org<mailto:senadler at njleg.org>
Senator Christopher Bateman (908)-526-3600  senbateman at njleg.org<mailto:senbateman at njleg.org>
Senator Bob Gordon (201)-703-9779 sengordon at njleg.org<mailto:sengordon at njleg.org> (thank him for being leader on this!!)
Senator Bob Smith (732)-752-0770 senbsmith at njleg.org<mailto:senbsmith at njleg.org>
Senator Andrew Ciesla (732)-840-9028 senciesla at njleg.org<mailto:senciesla at njleg.org>
Talking Points
1) Legislators must move the the horseshoe crab moratorium legislation (S1331) out of the Senate Environment Committee on March 1.  They should also commit to co-sponsoring the legislation and voting for the bill when it comes before the full Senate.
2) The moratorium needs to last until the Delaware Bay shorebird populations and spawning horseshoe crabs have fully recovered.
3) Due to the overharvest of horseshoe crabs, the Red Knot, a robin-sized shorebird, is facing extinction and two other shorebirds, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones, are facing significant declines.
4)  This legislation is needed since the NJ Marine Fisheries Council vetoed NJDEP horseshoe crab moratorium regulations.  The NJ Marine Fisheries Council decision runs counter to the science and sets the Red Knot on a course towards extinction.
5) The Delaware Bay, our Serengeti, is one of the top four most important shorebird stopover sites in the world.  We must be responsible stewards for this gem!  Wildlife watchers visiting the Delaware Bay to view shorebirds and horseshoe crabs contribute up to $42 million per year to the local NJ economy.
Thanks for your help to save the shorebirds on the Delaware Bay!
Regards,
Eric Stiles, Vice President for Conservation
New Jersey Audubon Society

Note:  A moratorium on Horseshoe Crabs in New Jersey will likely increase harvest pressure in New York and Connecticut who should actively pursue similar legislation for Long Island Sound waters, as the taking of Horseshoe Crabs for eel bait also affects diminishing populations of American eels as well as shorebirds.

Milan Bull