Dear Governor Hochul,
We, the fishermen and fishing families, seafood buyers, processors and exporters, and shoreside businesses of Long Island, respectfully request you to veto A.4997 and S.4289, bills that would ban the commercial harvest and sale of horseshoe crabs in New York. Last year, you showed true leadership by vetoing these same bills, standing firmly with science, fairness, and the working people who feed New York, and we remain deeply appreciative of that decision.
Now, we are asking you to do the same this year, because this proposed ban would needlessly destroy three sustainable and interconnected fisheries, the horseshoe crab, conch, and American eel fisheries, that have operated responsibly under strict oversight for decades.
Horseshoe crabs are not endangered, nor do they need protection; in fact, every major scientific assessment confirms the species remains stable and far from any risk of extinction. New York’s horseshoe crab harvest is already one of the most heavily regulated on the East Coast.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) allows New York a quota of 366,272 crabs per year, but the state has voluntarily limited that to 150,000 since 2004, less than half of what is permitted. Actual harvests are far lower. As of late 2025, only about 70,000 crabs were landed, representing 19% of the ASMFC quota.
This decline is not due to population loss but because fishermen have developed bait bags that reduce crab use by up to 90% per pot and cooperating with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on four annual five-day lunar closures to protect spawning crabs.
These conservation steps are working. Data from DEC, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Stony Brook University show that horseshoe crab abundance in New York waters is stable and improving, with virtually all scientific indices trending upward. The fishery is performing exactly as intended: responsibly managed, economically vital, and environmentally sound.
A total ban on horseshoe crab harvest would have no scientific basis, yet it would trigger real and lasting economic harm. It would devastate the Long Island conch and eel fisheries, which depend on limited, carefully managed horseshoe crab bait. The ripple effects would be immediate: lost income for fishermen, reduced landings for local buyers and exporters, and cuts to shoreside businesses from docks to processors to fish markets.
Governor Hochul, you showed true leadership last year by standing with science, fairness, and the working people who feed New York. We respectfully ask you to stay the course and veto these bills again, because this ban is not rooted in facts or data, and the economic consequences to Long Island’s fishing families and local businesses would be severe and unnecessary.
Thank you.