October 14, 2025 — Some ideas sound noble in theory but collapse under the weight of the facts. That’s the case with New York State Assembly Bill 4997 and Senate Bill 4289, legislation that would ban the harvest and sale of horseshoe crabs by New York’s licensed commercial fishermen
Proponents call it “protection.” In reality, it’s an unnecessary ban that would wipe out livelihoods, damage sustainable local fisheries, and ignore the very science-based efforts that state and federal regulators have built together.
Gov. Kathy Hochul understood that last year when she vetoed the same bill. At a time when some were pushing hard for an outright ban, she stood instead with science, with regulators, and with the men and women who make their living on the water. For that, New York’s fishing families are deeply grateful, and hopeful that she will again make the tough but right decision.