A review on fisheries and conservation status of Asian Horseshoe crabs
Horseshoe crabs are the only extant xiphosurans and are believed to be morphologically unchanged for more than 200 million years. Of the four extant species namely, Limulus polyphemus, Tachypleus tridentatus, Tapinauchenius gigas and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, the latter three are found in As...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
Springer Netherlands
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/66969/14/66969_A%20review%20on%20fisheries%20and%20conservation_complete.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/66969/13/66969_A%20review%20on%20fisheries%20and%20conservation_scopus.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/66969/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-018-1633-8 |
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| Summary: | Horseshoe crabs are the only extant xiphosurans and are believed to be morphologically
unchanged for more than 200 million years. Of the four extant species namely, Limulus
polyphemus, Tachypleus tridentatus, Tapinauchenius gigas and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda,
the latter three are found in Asian waters. Recent evidences showed that Asian
horseshoe crabs are facing serious threats such as degradation of their spawning grounds
and habitat, environmental pollution, overexploitation as a culinary delicacy and biomedical
bleeding practices. Baseline data on the distribution and existing population of the wild
horseshoe crabs remain poorly known in several Asian regions. Several studies have clearly
revealed that pressure due to over-fshing of wild stock has increased tremendously in the
last decade. Due to an increase in demand for Tachypleus Amebocyte Lysate (TAL) analogous
to Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) in the United States, there is an urgent need to
comprehensively address their fshing and conservation measures in the Asian region. This
review addresses the overall studies on three species of Asian horseshoe crabs in relation
to their fshing practices, local exploitation of their wild stock either for human consumption
(or) by biomedical industries. The authors have structured the discussion on an international
scale to address the existing problems in fshing and conservation of horseshoe
crabs. Since no specifc regulatory force or legislative protection act or a policy to preserve
their natural stock are available to this date, this paper strongly recommends representative
countries to include horseshoe crabs under their wildlife protection act to avoid further
unsustainable exploitation of their wild populations |
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