Socio‐demographic drivers and public perceptions of consumption and conservation of Asian horseshoe crabs in northern Beibu Gulf, China

Abstract

Overharvesting Asian horseshoe crabs for food is a primary threat to their populations. In the present study, 451 residents were interviewed from the northern Beibu Gulf, the coastal area that is believed to accommodate the highest density of the Chinese horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus worldwide, to obtain baseline information on their consumption behaviour and underlying drivers. Based on the survey data, it is estimated that a mean individual consumption rate of ten meals per year. Nearly half of the respondents (49.7%) claimed that they had previously eaten at least two horseshoe crab meals. Among the six occupation categories (managers, professionals, workers, environmental‐related workers, fishers and farmers, and students), fishers and farmers were identified as the group that had eaten a significantly higher number of horseshoe crab meals, had consumed them more frequently, and had a greater intention of eating them than that of students. The age, education level, and salary of participants were the important socio‐demographic variables related to their consumption behaviour. More than one‐third of respondents decided to consume horseshoe crabs because they perceived them as tasty ‘seafood’ and valuable ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine. Eighty‐three per cent of participants reported an overall decrease in the number of horseshoe crabs in the region. Although the community was supportive towards horseshoe crab conservation, their ecological knowledge of horseshoe crabs was limited. The findings may be useful for providing insights to merge the gap between scientific data and management planning for the horseshoe crab population in the region. Conservation management initiatives, such as the involvement of fishers in monitoring and enforcement, developing a reporting system for landings and by‐catch, and implementing long‐term conservation education through the school curriculum could promote the protection and management of the population.

Ontogenetic resource use and trophic dynamics of endangered juvenile Tachypleus tridentatus among diversified nursery habitats in the northern Beibu Gulf, China

“…The global market for LAL/TAL is approximately $500 million USD, and the market is still growing rapidly in emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil (Gauvry 2015). Coastal habitat loss and degradation, coupled with overfishing for both biomedical bleeding and food sources, pose acute threats to horseshoe crab populations (Smith et al 2017;John et al 2018;Fu et al 2019;Liao et al 2019). The tri-spine horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus, and the Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, were listed as Endangered and Vulnerable, respectively, under the IUCN Red List (Smith et al 2016;Laurie et al 2019), while the other 2 extant species, Tachypleus gigas and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda are thought to have experienced substantial declines in recent decades (John et al 2018).…”

Mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicaudaLatreille, 1802) populations reveal genetic break in Strait of Malacca, with connectivity along southern coasts of Peninsular Malaysia

“…On the other hand, the overexploitation of horseshoe crabs for consumption has proven detrimental to the populations (Faridah et al, 2015; Nelson et al, 2019). Although C. rotundicauda has no edible value to local communities because of its toxicity (Ngy et al, 2007; Fu et al, 2019; Zheng et al, 2019), they are used for fishmeal and biomedical research purposes (Smith & Brockmann, 2014; Yennawar, 2015; Zauki et al, 2019a). Overall, there is a strong need to raise public awareness and community‐based management for the protection as well as genetic conservation of horseshoe crabs in Malaysia.…”

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Molting, Oxidative Stress, and Gut Microbiota in Juvenile Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus tridentatus

“… Chen et al (2004) referred horseshoe crabs as a good indicator species for reflecting the general health of the coastal habitat. Unfortunately, habitat destruction and overfishing have caused a sharp decline in the horseshoe crab population over the last 30 years ( Lee and Morton, 2016 ; Fu et al, 2019 ; Liao et al, 2019 ). The horseshoe crab resources in China have already faced exhaustion.…”