Horseshoe crab which has survived for over 445 million years without undergoing any morphological change is a living fossil and is only found only on select coasts of the world.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Raising concerns over hundreds of Horseshoe Crab carcasses scattered along the coast of Balasore in Odisha, environmentalists warned that the absence of concrete conservation measures for the species – known for its robust immune system and the use of its blue blood in producing rapid diagnostic reagents to test the toxicity of injectable drugs – is posing a serious threat to this endangered marine species.

“We have discovered hundreds of dead horseshoe crabs at Gudpahi beach under Chandipur wildlife range of Balasore. Many of these dead crabs were fresh as they were believed to have died in last three to four days. We managed to release 163 horseshoe crabs trapped in fishing nets into the sea again,” Biswajeet Panda, founder of Bikash Saathi, a non-government organisation, said.

Mr. Panda said this is the time when horseshoe crabs visit coast for breeding and they lay thousands of eggs at their preferred location.

Horseshoe crab which has survived for over 445 million years without undergoing any morphological change is a living fossil and is only found only on select coasts of the world. Balasore in Odisha is fortunate to be hosting two species of horseshoe crabs.

“This is an environmental disaster. Horseshoe crab is a very valuable species because of its medicinal usage. Since the endangered species visit Odisha coast in large number, it is our responsibility to conserve them,” B.C. Choudhury, head of marine science wing of Wildlife Trust of India, a non-government organisation, said.

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Mr. Choudhury said, “destructive fishing practices are to be solely blamed for mortalities. Balasore which used to boast of the species is soon going to be graveyard of the endangered species.”  The scientist said majority of breeding grounds of horseshoe crabs fall in prohibited zone of the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, a missile testing facility of Defence Research and Development Organisation and an additional effort of Forest Department would help the endangered species survive.

Filsherfolks basically abandon the damaged fishing nets inside sea or on beach. Horseshoe crabs get entangled in the nets.

“Threat to the species cannot be gauged by number of fatalities. Horseshoe crabs come to beach in pairs to lay eggs. A female crab is said to have 8,000 to 10,000 eggs. Even 60% of eggs hatches, the offsprings will be huge number,” Bishnu Prasad Dash, principal investigator of Horseshoe Crab Research Laboratory of Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology in Fakir Mohan University, said.

Researchers are rescuing rare horseshoe crabs entangled in fishing nets along Odisha coast in Balasore district.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

A recent study ‘Fishery Bycatch Jeopardises Indian Horseshoe Crab (Tachypleus gigas) Along the Northeast Coast of Odisha, India’ states that over the two-year survey period, a total of 6,546 entangled individuals of Horseshoe Crab were recorded along Balasore coast.

“Of these, 1408 were recovered alive, while 5,138 were found dead either floating on the water or in entanglement with fishing nets. Of the dead individuals, 703 were severely decomposed or at juvenile age, in which their sex could not be determined. For the remaining live and dead individuals, a total of 3,496 (59.8%) females and 2,347 (40.2%) males were recorded,” Mr. Dash, who was one of authors of the study, said.

“Year-wise, 2,377 individuals of entangled horseshoe crabs were recorded from March 2017 to February 2018, in which 483 were alive and released back into the sea, whereas from March 2018 to February 2019, a total of 4,169 individuals were found, in which 925 were alive and safely rescued,” he elaborated.