Back in July I did a post stating that one day a horseshoe crab may save your life. Well let’s get a little deeper into it.
The blue colored blood from the lowly horseshoe crab is worth $60,000 a gallon or roughly $500 an ounce. Sound nuts? Think I’m pulling your leg? Well I’m not. And yes their blood can literally save your life. Horseshoe crabs are 450 million year old survivors of the Late Ordovician volcanic events that killed around 85 percent of live of this planet. And during their incredible journey, the horseshoe crab’s blood has evolved a special property that is essential to the development of vaccines for you and I. To learn more, check out these links. I think you’ll be amazed. Save the horseshoe crab!
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/videos-visuals/auditing-blue-blood-bank/
https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2019/06/crabs-peril
In the Fall of 2019 I attended a CT DEEP hearing on horseshoe crab harvesting. In Ct these crabs are only used for bait not for medical purposes. Most of the attendees represented conservation groups including the Audubon association. The messages of these environmental groups was that horseshoe crab eggs are vital to nourish migrating birds.
There was a small group of “watermen” who had permits to harvest these crabs. Their argument was they had a right to take these crabs. They needed the income.
Our species, homo sapiens has been documented to be about 200 thousand years old. Our actions are eliminating a species over 400 million years old. These crabs have a blood elements that can save human lives. It is in our best interests to maximize the survival of horseshoe crabs.
Hey Ted,
At this moment in time, horseshoe crabs play a crucial role in our ability to make safe vaccines. And the present pandemic makes it all to clear how important safe vaccines are. God forbid, there may be another pandemic waiting for us just around the corner.