Red knot may be extinct in five years

[samuel walker]

Various wire reports claimed today that the N.American variety of the Red knot sandpiper could be extinct in five years. The basis for the claim is the declining horseshoe crab population in the Deleware Bay area.The 9000 mile migraters are dependent on the crab's eggs.The eggs are harvested by fishermen as a bait and pollution has stressed the crab population. I have been fortunate to see a few strays travel through the Great Lakes.The loss of any specie is tragic.
Sam

[snapper]

Various wire reports claimed today that the N.American variety of the Red knot sandpiper could be extinct in five years. The basis for the claim is the declining horseshoe crab population in the Deleware Bay area.The 9000 mile migraters are dependent on the crab's eggs.The eggs are harvested by fishermen as a bait and pollution has stressed the crab population. I have been fortunate to see a few strays travel through the Great Lakes.The loss of any specie is tragic.
SamIt may sound a silly Question but what can we do to help.

Regards Snapper.

[ljs]

Maybe this suggestion sounds silly but I do know that if everyone plays a part the bird would not go extinct. Pikcing up litters or unwanted nets could help reduce the pollution. Unwanted nets doesn't really cause much pollution but lately, in my country hundreds of horseshoe crabs were found trapped in unwanted fishing nets and some were saved but mostly died. Since the eggs are the food, protecting the crabs is a must as the loss of crab would mean extinction of the bird.
Maybe you could advise the fishermen on better baits instead of using the horseshoe crab's egg. An example would be small shrimp or fishes. I believe that your countries are doing some precaution measure to pevent the bird frm going extinct, so reporting of such fishing habits may help.
These are some ways we can help the birds but it's up to you to carry them out.
Near my house is a secondary forest. In it lived the endangered straw headed bulbul. The residents nearby would try to keep the place clean and some would do some reforesting. These are some little ways the people living arund the forest did to help in the conservation efforts of the straw headed bulbul.

[Blackstart]

Just to clarify, the whole animal is taken, not the eggs. Pick-up truck after pick-up truck is filled with them. This "harvest" (I prefer the term "wholesale slaughter") runs into the hundreds of thousands of individuals each year.

For more information, see: http://www.njaudubon.org/Conservation/HScrabalert.html

To get a little bit of a feel for the history of the problem, here's something that was written by Pete Dunne of New Jersey Audubon:

I remember those first aerial survey flights we conducted in 1982. How the hub-shaped crabs lined the beach -- four deep, and miles across. How the birds, feasting on the bounty of horseshoe crab eggs seemed like a vibrant ribbon of life.

I can recall, thinking then, that the estimate I'd heard of 1.5 million crabs (later upped to 4 million) was severly undervalued. I recall, too, thinking that this was a real opportunity to set the figure right.

Opportunity, maybe. Opportune time, clearly not. Our New Jersey Audubon Survey team was overwhelmed simply trying to estimate the numbers of shorebirds present -- a total which registered about 1 million birds at its peak during the third week in May.

Sadly, an observer attempting to replicate our survey efforts in 1997 would have faced a less daunting task. This year, along the New Jersey coast, the ribbon of life had been abraded to frayed and broken strands. The numbers of crabs and birds reduced to a vestige.

Why? Overharvest of the crabs (this time for use as eel and conch bait) -- a perennial theme in the saga of man and his environment. How, you must be asking, could such a thing have been allowed to happen?

How could an internationally celebrated phenomenon...

That was thoroughly documented and whose global significance known...

That was witnessed, annually, by thousands of individuals...

That generated over $3,000,000 in tourist revenue...

That was actively studied and monitored by state agencies and NGOs...

That was under the protective jurisdiction of a New Jersey Fisheries Council whose job it is to prevent a natural resource from becoming depleted...

That had showed signs of decline half a decade ago...

Been allowed to go down so quickly and with so little done in time to stop it?

Because the social, administrative, and legislative process we rely upon is incapable of keeping pace with the environmental crisis we face.

That's how.

It's no more complicated than this, but no less sad, either.


The above was written in 1997!


The powers-that-be in the states bordering the Delaware Bay need to forget about losing redneck votes and do the right thing. Their needs to be an immediate and total ban on taking Horseshoe Crabs, period.


-Adam

[bluetit]

What CAN we do to help? Is the campaign still going? Has anything already been changed or is in the process of....?
Bluetit

[Blackstart]

Here's another NJ Audubon link: http://www.njaudubon.org/Conservation/

The e-mail forms for the governors of New Jersey and Delaware:

NJ - Acting Governor Richard Codey: http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html

DE - Governor Ruth Ann Minner - http://www.state.de.us/governor/comments.shtml

-Adam

[Blackstart]

Another useful link: http://www.delawareaudubon.org/action/redknots_esa.html

-Adam

[Gemfyre]

The knot (both Great and Red) are also under threat in the East-Asian Australasian flyway, mainly due to land reclaimation by Korea which is diminishing the mudlfats these birds use as fueling sites on their northward migration.

Knots require a certain consistency of mud/sand to successfully feed as their feeding method involves sensing the travel of water through the spaces between sand grains. If the water flow is blocked, the knot can tell the size and shape of the object blocking the way and if it is the right size and shape it's likely to be a food item they can gobble down.

Australia has agreements with China and Japan to cease hunting of migratory shorebirds and to curtail land reclaimation, but unfortunately Korea refuses to join the party and insists on continuing the path of wonton environmental destruction. All I can recommend is trying not to buy anything made in China or Korea because it's likely been made on a reclaimed mudflat and cost the lives of many shorebirds.

[Robert L Jarvis]

That is such awful news. I was at the beach in '94 and it was an awsome spectacle. To think that this could end because of fisherman going after the crabs and pollution in the bay.

What on earth is happening there. Is no one standing up and making it clear enough is enough.

[Otto McDiesel]

[QUOTE=Gemfyre] not to buy anything made in China or Korea QUOTE]

Amen to that.

[Jane Turner]

Knot is under pressure from climate change too.

There is a predicted 16-33% reduction in breeding pairs by 2077 due to habitat loss

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/climate/waterbirds/WaterBirds_part1.pdf
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/climate/climatebook/Zockler.pdf


And changes in temperature and water levels will affecting feeding patterns
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2003.00876.x

[Blackstart]

NJ Audubon put the following press release on its Web site on November 3:

http://www.njaudubon.org/Conservation/PDF/HCVictoryRelease11-05.pdf

All I can figure out from it is that the states surrounding Delaware Bay are "considering" a temporary moratorium on taking Horseshoe Crabs. It appears that they have not, as of yet, actually done anything but pay the issue lip service.

-Adam

[savethebirds]

NJ Audubon put the following press release on its Web site on November 3:

http://www.njaudubon.org/Conservation/PDF/HCVictoryRelease11-05.pdf

All I can figure out from it is that the states surrounding Delaware Bay are "considering" a temporary moratorium on taking Horseshoe Crabs. It appears that they have not, as of yet, actually done anything but pay the issue lip service.

-AdamWill there be a similiar thread in the not too distant future about condors, eagles and other birds becoming extinct with the global proliferation of proposed windfarms?

[Blackstart]

Will there be a similiar thread in the not too distant future about condors, eagles and other birds becoming extinct with the global proliferation of proposed windfarms?
I thought there were already two such threads. Would you kindly save your posts for them?

-Adam

[Tero]

[QUOTE=Gemfyre] not to buy anything made in China or Korea QUOTE]

Amen to that.

Difficult task. Most of our shoes and clothes are made there.

But back to the Knots, the problem is, as always, expanding human activities. Our entire economy flops if there is no growth. A political philosophical and practical problem, as we reach a population high at some point. then what?

[Blackstart]

But back to the Knots, the problem is, as always, expanding human activities. Our entire economy flops if there is no growth.
The problem in the case of the Red Knot is the inaction on the part of the states bordering the Delaware Bay vis-a-vis a moratorium on the taking of Horseshoe Crabs. I can assure you that their economies will not flop as a result.

-Adam

[michaelboustead]

Horseshoe crabs are taken mostly as bait to catch eels. Who eats eels?

Principal problems the states bordering the Delaware Bay.

[Blackstart]

An Update from NJ Audubon:

MAY 19, 2006 – On May 15th, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 2-year moratorium on the harvest of horseshoe crabs in New Jersey went into effect. This action will address the immediate threat to Red Knot populations by allowing the Horseshoe Crab stock in our state to recover prior to 2010. For this success, we extend a special thanks to Governor Jon Corzine, NJ DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, Assemblyman John McKeon and New Jersey Marine Fisheries Chairman Gilbert Ewing.

However, despite concerns expressed by leading scientists and environmental organizations, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission failed to adopt a regional 2-year moratorium on the harvest of Horseshoe Crabs earlier this month. Instead, the Commission decided to allow a delayed, male-only harvest in New Jersey and Delaware, More specifically, the Commission voted to prohibit the harvest of crabs between January 1 and June 7, but still permit the harvest of 100,000 male crabs between June 8 and December 31 in the two states. The Commission also delayed the harvest in Maryland and Virginia federal waters from January 1 to June 7 for two years. These limited protections will go into effect in October 2006.

While the NJ DEP restriction, which supersedes the federal measure, will protect Horseshoe Crab and Red Knot populations in New Jersey, regional protection of the crab populations is critical to ensuring the overall survival of the red knot. We will continue working with our partners in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia to urge the adoption of more conservation-minded measures.

Adam

[Evanji Axu]

Bush's doing. As always.

[Blackstart]

A judge in Delaware has decided to strike down the state's self-imposed 2-year moratorium on taking Horseshoe Crabs:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.crabs09jun09,0,6546691.story?coll=bal-pe-maryland

Adam

[Jane Turner]

Priceless!

[jurek]

Various wire reports claimed today that the N.American variety of the Red knot sandpiper could be extinct in five years.

I hope it will be protected.

But claim "extinct in five years" is several years old - possibly more than five years. 8-P

[Gentoo]

How's the pacific population of Red Knots doing?

[Sir William]

Unfortunately in a 5-4 vote NJ has also decided to allow the harvesting of 150,000 horseshoe crabs this year after the moratorium expired. This is terrible news for the Red Knot, a species already on the brink of extinction.

Please read the following and write to as many people as you can (legislative leaders, the governor, newspapers, etc), especially if you're from NJ, DE, or surrounding areas:

http://www.dvoc.org/Conservation/Corner2008/ConservationCorner2008.htm

[Chris D]

Great show on "Nature" last Sunday about this subject............

[sarahbn]

Here is the lastest on the ban

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/assembly_backs_ban_on_horsesho.html

[sarahbn]

I think NJ has kept the ban in place one more year, pending the Govenor's signature.

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20080317_ap_senateoksbanonhorseshoecrabharvesting. html?adString=ph.wires/new_jersey;!category=new_jersey;&randomOrd=031708032208