The moratorium will remain in effect until Virginia complies with the coast-wide regulations to reduce harvests of the species. Horseshoe crabs are an ancient group of marine animals related to spiders. They are bottom-dwelling and utilize both near shore and continental shelf habitats from Mexico to Maine. Horseshoe crabs move inshore in the spring, especially into beach areas to spawn. They prefer to lay their eggs on sandy beaches within bays and coves that are protected from surf.
Eggs take about a month to hatch.
Upon hatching, larvae spend about a week swimming in the water column before molting and assuming their bottom dwelling life. Horseshoe crabs are also harvested for use by the medical industry. A portion of their blood is extracted for the testing of bacterial endotoxins in drugs, and medical equipment that holds human blood. Once the horseshoe crab blood is removed, the crabs are returned to the sea alive. Officials also want to ensure that declining populations of migratory shorebirds have an abundant source of horseshoe crab eggs upon which to feed when they stop to rest in Delaware Bay before moving north to their Canadian nesting areas.