The horseshoe crab’s unique blood has powerful properties valued by the biomedical industry.
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How much blood does one crab hold?
I need to know how much blood i will need
Does the crab die after milking the blood or are they preserved?
Angela, take another look at the video. They said most survive and are returned their environment where they are captured again at a future time.
Estos animalitos vuelven a su habitat? Como producen tanta sangre azul? Son criados especialmente para este propósito?
Incredible story, magnificent creature!!
Si, vuelven. Enbede de tener llero en su sangre, tienen cobre. Se parecen que no son domisticados poer el video.
Yes, Dave, they tell us the crab survives. What eles could they say?? But it’s still a lie. 10 to 15% of those marvelous creatures die from this procedure. Why can we farm thses valuable sea creatures instead of robbing nature? People are rapidly destroying this earth and all the living things on it!!!
(It came across the bottom of the screen ‘have you seen a horseshoe crab? Go to pbs.org Since I can’t find where to tell about it, I’ll leave my comment here.) I was in Biloxi, MS in July of 2008 and saw 2 horseshoe crabs on the beach one morning. I didn’t know what they were and couldn’t find out anywhere. I was so excited to see this program! I had been referring to them as the ‘prehistoric sea creatures’ on the beach…very cool to find out they really are prehistoric sea creatures! Too bad about the ones that die because of the bleeding process. you would think they would take less than 1/3 of their blood, maybe 1/4, and have more of them survive.
while in florida my grandparents saw a whole bunch of these horeshoe crabs on the beach mating. and then we saw that show tonight and realized how big of a deal it was :)
This Nature Show was especially interesting and the blue blood-letting was unforgettable. Life lesson here: from the earth’s possibly ugliest creature comes a means to save Humanity. Thanks – MGL
are the red knots still alive ? me and my mom want to know
This is a wonderful thing.It will be a great help for us humans.
Yes some die but it sure beats having been sold to be eaten.
terrific program; loved it.
Is the 15% death rate cited only those that occur during the blood letting? If the industry profiting from their blood is providing the statistics, I would have little faith in their veracity. Does the 15% represent deaths that occur during the blood-letting? If so, who determines how many survive after being thrown back into the water after the procedure? Barbaric. But yes, the fisherman’s tearing them apart for eel bait is even more so…
I don’t believe the horseshoe crab is the world’s ugliest creature. It may be our most beautiful tie to the prehistoric era. While 13%, 86% live, die, those who live have given humanity the greatest gift the ability to live and for society to grow. To say that they bleeding them is a waste, only undermines what they are doing for us.
Who are the company’s that are selling the blood?
I’m not sure where the 10-15% mortality rate came from. I worked for years at a company called Associates of Cape Cod as a “Bleed Crew” member, and we rarely had casualties related to the actual bleed process approaching double digits. In fact each days “collection” was counted, sorted, and accounted for when we dropped them back in the water. Those “crabs” that arrived wounded (ingesting fishing hooks and line, impacts from boats, etc…), or had been previously bled (you’d see a scar on membrane) were not bled. An average male would produce about 20-24 ounces (two jars), and an adult female (larger than the males) would go 20-36 ounces 2 to 3 jars). The blood was processed twice to assure that none was wasted. Remember that in the coastal areas that these ancient creatures mate, they compete directly with shell fisherman, and are considered a nuisance. Many coastal towns still have bylaws that provide bounties for their destruction, and many are killed for bait, or just to get rid of them. Although humans get the better end of the deal, the harvesting of limulus blood is not the shop of horrors it’s often made out to be. From a purely economic perspective, the “crabs” are treated as a renewable natural resource, not an expolitable gift from nature. I’ve always been fascinated by these creatures, and my years in the “Bleeding” industry did not diminish my respect for them, or concern for their preservation.
I work for the company mentioned in the video. I agree with the comment left by tom. It is not the bleeding process that causes the 10-15% death rate, this is the amount that die because they come in wounded already. We do not bleed any crab that is wounded. If it has a visible injury, bleeding or looks to have been bled recently (a return crab) then it is set aside and not bled. The crabs are checked over several times for injuries… during the washing and separation of males and females, during the racking and prepping process and again right before they are actually bled.
I thought this was one of the most interesting shows I’ve seen in a long time. It’s amazing how everything is interdependent on each other. It definitely made me think about the balance of nature more. What a truly incredible thing!
I am a shellfisherman and i harvest them each year when they are mating.What most people don’t know is thier are millions and millions and millions of horseshoe crabs.People assume their are not that many of them because they mainly come ashore in late spring at night on a high out going tide for a period of an hour or so to mate.