NORTH BEACH — The Town of North Beach has begun participating in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Horseshoe Crab Cooperative Tagging Program in partnership with the College of Southern Maryland and the local North Beach Horseshoe Crab Rescue Group.
The project marks the first tagging effort in North Beach and one of the first large-scale programs along Maryland’s western Chesapeake Bay shoreline. Researchers use the data to track horseshoe crab movement, distribution, lifespan and survival rates. Information from the western shore has been limited compared with other parts of the Bay and Atlantic coast.
Horseshoe crabs play a key role in coastal ecosystems. Their eggs provide critical food for migrating shorebirds, including red knots. The species also supports commercial fisheries that use them as bait and the biomedical industry, which extracts a substance from their blood for endotoxin testing. Overharvesting concerns in past decades led to management programs across the region.
The tagging program helps fill data gaps in Calvert County. Tagged crabs carry a white circular tag with a unique number. Anyone who finds a tagged crab on the beach can report the number and location through the federal website or phone line. Local organizers also ask residents to notify the town naturalist so project-specific data can be tracked.
Horseshoe crabs are not true crabs but ancient arthropods that have existed for hundreds of millions of years. Adults come ashore in late spring and early summer to spawn on beaches. Females lay clusters of eggs in the sand during high tides. The eggs hatch after several weeks, and larvae enter the water. Tagging allows scientists to follow individual animals over time and assess population health.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coordinates the cooperative tagging effort with partners along the Atlantic coast. Data collected through the program inform harvest quotas, habitat protection and recovery efforts for species that depend on horseshoe crab eggs. Limited prior tagging in the western Chesapeake Bay means new information from North Beach can improve understanding of local movement patterns and survival.
The College of Southern Maryland’s involvement provides educational and research support. The North Beach Horseshoe Crab Rescue Group assists with on-site work, including handling and tagging crabs during spawning season. The town coordinates the overall effort and encourages public participation.
Residents and visitors who spot a tagged horseshoe crab should record the tag number and exact location. Reports can be submitted online or by phone. Notifying the local contact helps separate North Beach-tagged crabs from those tagged elsewhere. The federal program website provides additional details on the tagging methods and data use.
The project operates on North Beach and nearby shoreline areas where horseshoe crabs are commonly observed. Participation is voluntary and open to anyone who encounters a tagged animal. Data from public reports contribute directly to the scientific database used for management decisions.
