Photo: Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries
DUXBURY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The state will have no shortage of helping hands when it comes to counting the population of an ancient animal.
In just under a month from now, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries will begin its annual count of the state's horseshoe crab population. The creatures—that are neither crabs nor crustaceans, but rather anthropods—have been on earth for between 350 to 450 million years and are a vital part of the local ecosystem and biomedical industry.
Every spring the DMF combs the beaches of the commonwealth from the south shore all the way up to the end of the cape to keep track on the population. Horseshoe Crab Biologist Derek Perry said they normally look for around 50 to 60 volunteers a year.
"We can't be at all these beaches at once," Perry said. "Some of the surveys are less desirable for some people because they could be three in the afternoon or three in the morning. It's a little harder to get people at three in the morning to count crabs."
However, this year volunteering to count the crabs has been a hot ticket.
"In past years we usually put out an email or put it on Facebook and request volunteers, we'll get about 50 emails," Perry said. "This year within 24 hours of putting up that post we got 500."
Horseshoe crabs are incredibly valuable because of their blood, which is used to create Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate or LAL, a test used to find toxins in medical products.
"If you have an IV, a vaccine, or a knee replacement, they test those products with LAL first to make sure it's safe," Perry said.
Anyone interested in taking part in the survey can find more information here.
WBZ's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.