![]() ![]() There is hope yet - and it perhaps won't be long until we can phase out the use of crab blood for good. In 2019 the IUCN and other conservation groups around the world called for stronger rules to protect horseshoe crabs, more scientific research, and better protections for their coastal habitat. The other two Asian horseshoe crab species are not thriving either. ![]() It is locally extinct in Taiwan, and may soon disappear from Hong Kong. The tri-spine horseshoe crab is classified as endangered. Crab mating grounds are being destroyed more quickly by rising sea levels and building work. The eggs are fertilised, raised in a hatchery and released back into the ocean to try to keep population numbers stable. Some medicine companies have started sustainability programmes that rescue eggs from crabs that have been caught for bait. ![]() Some crab populations are now increasing, although others are still struggling. The American horseshoe crab is not considered endangered (although it is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) and the number of crabs caught is monitored.Īmerican regulators and manufacturers also created guidance on how to reduce the number of crabs killed during the bleeding process, which is helping. ![]() It's also arguable medicine manufacturers aren't the biggest problem facing horseshoe crabs: in America many more are killed for fishing bait and lots are struggling in Asia because their habitat is disappearing. A small percentage of them die after being bled, although medicine producers are becoming ever more careful about keeping population numbers healthy. For instance, America still bleeds many crabs every year. Synthetic ingredients and alternative tests are not yet widely used in some countries. Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company developing one of the biggest potential Covid vaccines, said they won't be using crab blood in their jab. It is likely that a new Covid test manufactured in the UK will use synthetic ingredients, which are also approved by the European Union. Some governments, including the Japanese and Chinese, have approved the rFc test for use. This genetically engineered protein is called Recombinant Factor C, or rFC. Plus, lots die because they strand upside down on beaches after coming to land to mate.įor years, no one managed to find any alternative ingredients to use in a test that were as sensitive as crabs' blood.īut there is hope: in the late 1990s biologists at the University of Singapore realised that a synthetic alternative could be created in a lab by cloning a molecule in the crab blood. Some die after being bled for medical testing, although we don't know how many. In Asia, they are also harmed by pollution, rising sea levels and building work. Its large hard shell serves as microhabitat for many other species such as sponges, mud crabs, mussels and snails.'īut living alongside humans can be difficult for horseshoe crabs. One of their ecological functions is to lay millions of eggs on beaches to feed shorebirds, fish and other wildlife. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says, 'The horseshoe crab is a critical link to coastal biodiversity. They are also good for fishermen because they help keep the sediment around coastlines healthy. These crabs may look prehistoric, but they do an important job of supporting other animals around them: their eggs are a nourishing snack for migrating birds. The fourth is the American horseshoe crab ( Limulus polyphemus ) which lives along the east coast of North America, with a particularly large number going to the beaches of the Delaware Bay to mate each year. ![]()
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