Global News - March 2008

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Officials protect crabs to save rare bird

Wed 26 March 2008 13:45 UK — North America,Birds

In a bid to protect a rare shore bird, officials in the US have banned the harvest of horseshoe crabs, as their eggs are an essential nutrient for the birds during their migration.

New Jersey's governor, Jon Corzine, signed a law which banned the horseshoe crab harvest until both the crab and red knot populations have returned to sustainable levels.

The move came after conservationists warned that the number of red knots appears to have fallen to just 15,000.

They suggested that the population drop could have been caused when the birds were unable to find food, after local fishermen started using the horseshoe crabs as bait.

According to the Associated Press, Mr Corzine said: "We all have to recognise that one action begets another action, and in the last few years I think we [have] all come to realise how fragile our Earth is and it needs to be protected."

Dr Larry Niles, a biologist who has worked on the red knot since the 1980s, explained to Reuters that the law was the most important step yet to protect the bird.

He added: "If things go wrong in other places, at least we know we did the best that we could do."

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