Audubon New York, the state program of the National Audubon Society, and 22 of New York's Audubon Chapters, submitted the following comments on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYS DEC) proposed closure of Pike’s Beach on Long Island to horseshoe crab harvesting because of the site’s significance to horseshoe crab spawning and shorebirds.
Audubon New York supports the closing of Pikes Beach to horseshoe crab harvesting, which falls within an area Audubon identified as the Moriches Bay Important Bird Area (IBA). This globally significant IBA supports high numbers of waterfowl, waterbirds, and wading birds as well as highly at-risk species like the Piping Plover and Red Knot. Closing the horseshoe crab harvest at Pikes Beach would benefit not only the crab population, but also migrating shorebirds that rely on horseshoe crab eggs as a critical food source during their long migrations.
