Dear Birdingaussers,
One of those human stupidity things. Please write your support, not only
for the waders, but also for the Horseshoe Crabs.
Cheers
Glen
Brisbane, Australia
`What a glorious thing must be victory, Sir.'
`The greatest tragedy in the world, Madam, except a defeat.'
Duke of Wellington
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To: |
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Subject: |
[BIRDCHAT] Horseshoe Crabs and Delaware Bay |
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From: |
Barbara Volkle <> |
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Date: |
Thu, 26 Jun 1997 20:16:47 -0400 |
I'm posting this for Lois Jenkins.... This subject has already
come up, but bears repeating. I'd appreciate any updates on the
situation.
Barbara Volkle
Northboro, MA
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 10:48:23 -0400 (EDT)
From:
To:
Subject: important bird posting
Barbara, Thank you for getting this important message out to as many
interested people as possible! Lois Jenkins
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There is an acute environmental crisis in Delaware Bay. All
concerned citizens are urged to respond.
For thousands of years horseshoe crabs have crawled on to
the shores of Delaware Bay to lay millions of their tiny blue green
eggs, far more than are needed for their reproductive needs. Many of
the eggs are swept from the sand by the action of the tides and
deposited along the shoreline.
Over 1 and a half million shore birds time their arduous
spring migratory journey from Central and South America to coincide
with this abundance of food. Their energy resources are nearly
exhausted when they arrive. They spend several days feeding on the
horseshoe crab eggs and replenishing their energy reserves. When
they have enough energy stored they begin the last leg of their
incredible migratory journey NON STOP until they reach the Arctic
where they immediately begin their breeding cycle. It can not be
over emphasized how important this vital life giving refueling stop
is to their survival. This interaction between the horseshoe crabs
and the migrating shore birds is one of our planets greatest and
most celebrated natural phenomenons.
Traps now ring Delaware Bay to trap the horseshoe crabs.
Horse shoe crabs now are used as bait to catch eels for export,
mainly to Japan. This year a heart breaking environmental disaster
occurred. The trapping has been so successful the horseshoe crabs
could not come ashore to lay their eggs.
Among the species of shore birds affected are the red knots,
also known as sea robins because of their beautiful color. Forty
percent of the worlds population of red knots come to Delaware Bay
each spring. It is expected they will experience a disastrous
population crash this year.
Governor Christine Whitman declared a sixty day moratorium
May 29th on the commercial harvesting of horseshoe crabs. While
the moratorium is in the long term interest of Delaware Bays
environment and those whose lives are dependent on it, a
campaign has been mounted to reverse the Governor's ban.
Please inform the Governor that you support the sixty
day moratorium either by writing to;
The Honorable Christine Todd Whitman
Governor
125 West State St.
CN-001
Trenton, NJ 08625-0001
Or telephone (609) 292-6000.
Or e-mail by using the e-mail form on the bottom of the Governor's
web page at;
www.state.nj.us/officeo.htm .
Please respond and encourage your neighbors, friends, children,
and coworkers to respond as well.
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