In accordance with Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b);Section 553(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. § 553) and 50 C.F.R. 424.14(a), the Center for Biological Diversity (Petitioner) and its partners submit to the Secretary of Commerce and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through NOAA Fisheries, a petition to include the American Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) as threatened or endangered, and concurrently designate critical habitat.

Horseshoe crabs are living fossils that have survived in the ocean's depths for hundreds of millions of years despite five global extinction catastrophes. This critter is important in medicine because their blue blood can detect toxins fast, which is used in Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL). This test is frequently used in the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries to ensure the quality of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

They penetrate the tissue surrounding the animals' hearts and remove up to 30% of their blood. To avoid re-bleeding, horseshoe crabs are returned to the water a long distance from where they were first collected, and the entire operation takes between 24 and 72 hours. According to various estimates, 10-30% of the bleeding animals die. Bled animals tend to be more sleepy, slower, and less likely to follow the tides than their counterparts. Their populations have decreased in recent decades due to overfishing and habitat destruction.

Horseshoe crabs face yet another serious threat: habitat loss. Development, coastal hardening, and sea-level rise are all destroying the spawning beaches along their entire range. These dangers are likely to continue and worsen in the foreseeable future. This ancient lineage of life has survived for than a half-billion years, but its future today depends on us. American horseshoe crabs urgently require designation and essential habitat under the Endangered Species Act.

Please help us protect this animal by signing in this petition!