The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against NOAA Fisheries after the agency missed its deadline for responding to a petition to list horseshoe crabs under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The conservation group claims horseshoe populations have declined by more than 70 percent in recent decades due to overharvesting and habitat loss. The invertebrates are highly valued by the biomedical industry for their unique blood, which clots when exposed to biotoxins. The crabs are also harvested for use as bait.
Conservation groups have pressured the industry to switch to synthetic alternatives to reduce horseshoe crab bleeding; in 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, and Revive & Restore released an online scorecard to track the industry's adoption of synthetic alternatives.
In February 2024, CBD also petitioned NOAA Fisheries to have horseshoe crabs listed under the ESA and to designate critical habitat for the species. CBD was joined by more than two dozen other conservation organizations in submitting the petition.
“The American horseshoe crab is threatened by habitat loss, sea level rise, and climate change across the entirety of its range, and overharvest threatens the American horseshoe crab across a significant portion of its range,” the groups claimed in the petition. “Populations have declined across the entirety of the horseshoe crab’s range, and their numbers continue to decline or remain at historically low levels across nearly all of their range.”
A 90-day initial finding on the petition was due May 2024; however, no finding has been issued to date.
Now, CBD has filed suit, asking a court to force the agency to finally complete the filing.
“Horseshoe crabs have saved so many people, and now it’s up to us to pay back that debt and save them,” CBD Senior Scientist Will Harlan said in a release. “We could lose these living fossils forever if they don’t get ESA protections soon. It’s reckless to delay their obvious need for protection, so we’re going to court to force the government to do its job.”
Several conservation groups have sued NOAA Fisheries over the last year as the agency routinely misses deadlines for issuing determinations on petitions.
“It should not take a lawsuit to make the federal government uphold its legal responsibility, but with the crisis facing Alaskan Chinook, we are out of time and options,” Wild Fish Conservancy Executive Director Emma Helverson said last year in regards to that group’s petition to have Alaska Chinook salmon ESA-listed. “The ESA sets clear deadlines for a reason – to evaluate the risk of extinction and trigger action while recovery is still possible. By ignoring those deadlines, NOAA isn’t just breaking the law; it’s perpetuating the collapse of Alaskan Chinook and threatening the ecosystems and communities that depend on them.”
