October 15, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Adaptive Resource (ARM) Framework will be peer-reviewed on November 16-18, 2021, via webinar. The ARM Framework incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized harvest limits for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay-origin. Since 2013, it has been used by the Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board to set annual specifications for the Delaware Bay region.

The Delaware Bay is home to both the largest staging area for migratory shorebirds in the Atlantic Flyway and the largest population of horseshoe crabs in the world. An estimated 425,000 to one million migratory shorebirds including the threatened Rufa red knot converge on the Delaware Bay to feed and rebuild energy reserves prior to completing their northward migration, with horseshoe crab eggs providing an important component of the shorebirds’ diet. To address this interrelationship, the Commission adopted use of the ARM Framework in 2012 to ensure that horseshoe crab harvest within the Delaware Bay region took into account the forage needs of migratory shorebirds. Nearly 10 years since its development and use, and with more available data, the Horseshoe Crab ARM Committee has been exploring revisions to the Framework. The peer review will evaluate the appropriateness of these revisions for use in management.

The peer review is open to the public, except for the Peer Review Panel’s final deliberations, when the public and all other workshop participants will be asked to exit the webinar. The link to the webinar follows:https://www.gotomeet.me/ASMFCStaff2/horseshoe‐crab‐arm‐review. Please note participants do not need to register in advance of the meeting, simply click on the webinar link the day of the meeting to join the webinar. A copy of the peer review agenda can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/HSC_ARM_ReviewWorkshopAgenda_Nov2021.pdf.

It’s anticipated that the revised ARM Framework and peer review report will be considered by the Horseshoe Crab Management Board in January 2022. For more information, please contact Tina Berger, Director of Communications, at tberger@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.