Not sure who downvoted you, but you’re half right. We do harvest them for blood for medical purposes, but they’re supposed to return them and the expected fatality rate is pretty low, and the total numbers taken for blood is way less than those taken for bait and food.
That being said, the process of collecting their blood is in decline. There are synthetic alternatives that are beginning to replace the crab blood route.
pusillanimouslist t1_j1pp3kt wrote
Reply to comment by Saoirsenobas in A frozen horseshoe crab at the beach by Spooky_Noodle_
Not sure who downvoted you, but you’re half right. We do harvest them for blood for medical purposes, but they’re supposed to return them and the expected fatality rate is pretty low, and the total numbers taken for blood is way less than those taken for bait and food.
That being said, the process of collecting their blood is in decline. There are synthetic alternatives that are beginning to replace the crab blood route.