Horse Shoe Crab Bait Project

Eel and Conch are going to have to find something else to eat.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes has ordered a two-year moratorium on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs in Delaware waters effective Dec. 11, 2006 as a protective measure for the horseshoe crab population and the migratory bird populations that depend on the resource for food.

"Supporting this project is aligned with the company commitment to sustainable business practice that reduces our environmental footprint on the Delaware Estuary ecosystem," said Nick Fanandakis, vice president and general manager, DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise.

DuPont has joined the effort by volunteering its scientific expertise to a three-year long horseshoe crab bait substitution research project being undertaken by the University of Delaware's College of Marine and Earth Studies. This endeavor is part of Clear into the Future, a community-based estuary conservation program launched by DuPont in September 2006. The goal of the research is to establish an alternative to horseshoe crab meat as bait for eel and conch.