Harvest of horseshoe crabs, needed for blue blood, stopped during spawning season in national refuge

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

The federal government is shutting down the harvest of a species of marine invertebrate in a national wildlife refuge during the spawning season to try to give the animal a chance to reproduce. Fishermen harvest horseshoe crabs so the animals can be used as bait and so their blood can be used to make medical products. Conservationists have long pushed to limit the harvest of the animals. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a ruling on Monday that calls for the end of horseshoe crab harvesting in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina from March 15 to July 15.