There is serious concern that populations of Limulus may be declining due to overfishing and other factors. Provencha (1992) cite declining numbers of Limulus in 1994-1997 versus 1978-79 in the Indian River Lagoon, FL. Population declines have also been cited on Cape Cod (Widener and Barlow, 1999) and in Delaware Bay (Michels, 1996; Hall and Shuster, 2001). The harvesting of Limulus for bait has been blamed for a decline in the population of Limulus in Delaware Bay (Botton et al., 1994). The fact that gravid females are much preferred as eel bait (because of increased attractiveness to eels; HCTC, 1998) and by biotech firms for their blood (because of their increased blood volumes; Sargent, 2002) is of particular concern.
Appropriate management of any species requires a sound scientific understanding of the species of interest. Yet, despite the economic, ecological, and medical importance of this species, very little is known about their behavior during the majority of the year when they are subtidal. One of the goals of our research is to provide insight into some aspects of these subtidal behaviors. We hope that these data may, in turn, help managers and other scientists develop management practices that do not cause any further decline in their populations.