This paper applies a catch multiple survey analysis (CMSA) to Atlantic horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus in the Delaware Bay to generate robust population estimates for harvest management. Currently, horseshoe crabs along the U.S. Atlantic coast are harvested as bait for other fisheries and collected for their blood, which is used in a biomedical industry. The Delaware Bay is home to the largest population of horseshoe crabs and is a significant stopover for shorebirds to rebuild energy by consuming horseshoe crab eggs prior to completing their northward migration. To address this interrelationship, the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework has been used since 2013 to ensure that horseshoe crab harvest within the region takes into account the forage needs of migratory birds. Since its inception, the ARM Framework has used a single trawl survey's swept area-based population estimates of horseshoe crab relative abundance and a theoretical population model developed primarily from literature-derived values. With more data collected in the region in recent years and other sources of mortality that can now be quantified, a catch survey model can provide horseshoe crab population estimates going forward.

中文翻译：

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特拉华湾大西洋鲎捕捞多重调查分析的应用

本文将捕捞多重调查分析（CMSA）应用于大西洋鲎鲎特拉华湾，为收获管理生成可靠的种群估计。目前，美国大西洋沿岸的鲎被捕捞作为其他渔业的诱饵，并收集其血液用于生物医学行业。特拉华湾是鲎数量最多的地方，也是滨鸟在完成向北迁徙之前通过消耗鲎卵来恢复能量的重要中转站。为了解决这种相互关系，自 2013 年以来一直使用自适应资源管理 (ARM) 框架，以确保该地区鲎的收获考虑到候鸟的饲料需求。自成立以来，ARM 框架使用了单次拖网调查对鲎相对丰度的扫过区域种群估计，以及主要根据文献得出的值开发的理论种群模型。随着近年来在该地区收集到的更多数据以及现在可以量化的其他死亡率来源，捕捞调查模型可以提供未来鲎种群的估计。