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Mass. hearing spotlights science, fisheries and biomedical uses in debate over banning horseshoe crab bait harvest
Summary
Witnesses at the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources hearing urged passage of H.898 to end taking horseshoe crabs for bait, citing shorebird declines and alternatives; commercial fishery and biomedical industry witnesses said current data and substitutes merit caution.
Lawmakers heard competing science and economic testimony on H.898, a bill to prohibit taking horseshoe crabs for bait in Massachusetts, during a hybrid hearing that drew conservation scientists, commercial fishers, biomedical manufacturers and coastal residents.
Supporters said abundant evidence links horseshoe‑crab eggs to the survival of migrating shorebirds and that recent federal and state reviews show populations under sustained pressure; they asked the committee to bar bait harvest while allowing narrowly drawn scientific and educational exceptions. Proponents pointed to peer‑reviewed studies and regional management actions as reasons Massachusetts should follow neighboring states that have restricted or paused bait harvests.
"Horseshoe crabs are a 450,000,000‑year‑old species," said Sarah Shahabi of the Conservation Law Foundation, urging the committee to act. Mass Audubon’s Sam…
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