A10140

The New York State Senate passed legislation imposing a moratorium on harvesting horseshoe crabs for both commercial and biomedical purposes, advancing environmental protections for a species in steep decline along the Atlantic Seaboard. Assembly Bill 10140, sponsored by Assemblymember Glick and championed by Sen. Hoylman-Sigal, passed 54-6 on a roll call vote. The bill prohibits taking horseshoe crabs for fishing bait—their primary commercial use in New York—and for biomedical research, where their blue blood's LAL enzyme is used for endotoxin testing in vaccine and drug production. Sen. Hoylman-Sigal argued the moratorium is necessary because horseshoe crabs are a keystone species whose decline has devastated the red knot bird population, which depends on horseshoe crab eggs during migration. The sponsor noted that no biomedical permits are currently active in New York and that major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi Pasteur have developed synthetic alternatives. However, Sen. Rhoads opposed the biomedical restriction, citing 2019 United States Pharmacopeia standards showing synthetic alternatives are not as effective as the natural LAL enzyme for detecting bacterial contamination in critical drugs and vaccines. Six senators—Griffo, Lanza, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, and Skoufis—voted against the measure. The bill takes effect January 1, 2025.