马蹄蟹独特的蓝色血液因其医学检测价值被广泛采用，已有约40年历史。[1]每年美国约有20万只马蹄蟹被捕用于生物医学用途，其中约15%在检测过程中死亡。[1]这种采集方式导致种群数量大幅下降，全国范围内20年间捕获数量增加了三倍。[1]
为了应对这一问题，制药公司礼来已开发出实验室合成的替代品用于药物检测，目前已将80%的检测转向该替代品，并计划完全消除对蟹血的依赖。[1]同时，马萨诸塞州采取了多项保护措施，包括在2023年对生物医学行业的捕获数量设置上限，以及在2024年禁止在4月15日至6月7日产卵季节进行所有马蹄蟹捕捞。[1]这些措施初见成效——71%的马萨诸塞州调查点显示过去15年种群数量呈上升趋势。[1]此外，康涅狄格州已禁止捕捞马蹄蟹，纽约州也通过立法禁止自2029年开始的捕猎活动。[1]
Horseshoe crabs have been harvested for decades to extract their distinctive blue blood, which contains a substance critical for detecting bacterial contamination in medications and medical devices.[1] Approximately 200,000 crabs are captured annually in Massachusetts for biomedical purposes, with nationwide numbers tripling over the past two decades.[1] The extraction process claims roughly 15% of captured crabs' lives.[1] This intensive harvesting has driven horseshoe crab populations into sharp decline, prompting urgent conservation efforts across multiple states.
Massachusetts has implemented protective measures aimed at reversing population loss. In 2023, the state imposed capture limits on the biomedical industry for the first time.[1] The following year, Massachusetts expanded these protections by banning all horseshoe crab harvesting from April 15 through June 7 to shield crabs during spawning season.[1] These interventions appear to be working: 71% of monitoring sites across Massachusetts have documented population increases over the past 15 years.[1] Connecticut has taken an even stricter approach by prohibiting horseshoe crab collection entirely, while New York has passed legislation that will ban harvesting starting in 2029.[1]
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are reducing their reliance on horseshoe crab blood through technological innovation. Eli Lilly has developed a laboratory-synthesized alternative for drug testing and has already shifted 80% of its testing procedures to this substitute, with plans to eliminate dependence on crab blood entirely.[1]