ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, alleging a failure to release detailed information on how thousands of horseshoe crabs are killed, bled, or injured by pharmaceutical companies and fishermen each year. The suit, filed in Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, cites the state’s Public Information Act.
Horseshoe crabs, a species threatened with extinction, are central to this legal action. The Center argues that Maryland's lack of transparency in the process of determining when these crabs can be harmed prevents meaningful participation in conservation efforts.
“It’s outrageous that a shared treasure like horseshoe crabs can be killed and injured at such high levels and that details of these slaughters are then hidden from the public,” said William Snape, an attorney representing the Center. “We’re wiping out one of the world’s oldest and toughest creatures through indifference and brutality.”
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources tells CoastTV it does not comment on active litigation.
The lawsuit targets biomedical companies that harvest horseshoe crabs and drain their blue blood, which is crucial for detecting toxins in drugs and medical devices. The lawsuit alleges blood harvests have nearly doubled since 2017, with almost 1 million crabs harvested in 2022. According to the lawsuit, despite the availability of synthetic alternatives used in Europe, U.S. companies have been slow to adopt these methods.
“Lesson one in saving wildlife is to make all take data available to the interested public,” said Snape. “By shielding huge corporate interests from accountability, the Department of Natural Resources is severely harming the horseshoe crab, Maryland’s shared beaches, and the residents of Maryland.”
Horseshoe crabs are unique, pre-historic brown, body-armored arthropods with 10 eyes and a long, spiked tail commonly seen on Delmarva. Despite their intimidating appearance, they are harmless to humans. Each spring along the Atlantic coast, they participate in massive beach spawning events, laying their eggs.
Nearly twice as old as the dinosaurs, horseshoe crabs have been around for more than 450 million years. However, their populations have seen a steep decline in recent decades, including in Maryland.
Several mass mortality events involving horseshoe crabs have occurred along the Atlantic coast in recent years. In 2021, a die-off in Ocean City resulted in thousands of crabs clogging canals. Similar events were observed in Ocean City in 2022 and 2023.
Earlier this year, the Center petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect horseshoe crabs under the federal Endangered Species Act.
**About the Center for Biological Diversity**
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.