Horseshoe crabs have existed in the ocean for over 450 million years, surviving mass extinctions and ice ages. However, conservation groups claim that their existence is now at risk due to human activities. The groups assert that horseshoe crab populations have dwindled by more than 70% in recent decades, as they are routinely harvested for bait and their blue blood is drained for biomedical testing.
President Donald Trump recently issued a proclamation, “Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific,” seeking to expand commercial fishing access in three Pacific Marine National Monuments. The three monuments affected are the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument. The proclamation removes previous restrictions set on each monument’s protected area to allow commercial fishing access to American-flagged vessels and the Secretary of Commerce to issue transport permits to foreign-flagged vessels for transporting harvested fish out of the monuments’ waters.
