This year the horseshoe crab population has shown signs of improved numbers and the red knots that depend on their eggs to give them the energy to complete their journey to their breading grounds in the Artic are getting enought eggs to bring them up to optimum weight.

While this is a very good sign that things are turning around, the red knot population is still critically low and more work has to be done to ensure that the red knot and horseshoe crab population makes a full recovery to previous over harvesting days.

Scientist capture and tag many red knots and other shore birds to  help keep an eye on how well the birds are doing. The last decade has been challenging to these birds due to the reduction of the horseshoe crab population along the New Jersey beaches.

The preliminary results coming in seem to indicate that the horseshoe crab population is rebounding from the over harvesting and the red knots are getting enough horseshoe crab eggs to fatten up for their continued journey to their breeding grounds.

Hopefully this will bring about a rebound of the reclining population of red knots seen over the last decade and prevent the possiblility of their extinctinon.

You can see a short video of the scientists capturing the examining the shorebirds at nj.com.

There are many animals that would probably not survive if horseshoe crab populations continue to decline.

The red knot, which has been getting a lot of attention in recent years depend on horseshoe crab eggs in the Delaware Bay area to fatten up so that they can complete their 9,300 mile migration From the tip of southern South America to their Arctic breeding grounds and still have enough energy to still nest when they get there.

Loggerhead sea turtles also a endangered species need the horseshoe crabs as a food source in order to survive.