Bureau of Marine Fisheries | New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (Division of Fish and Wildlife) | Responsible for managing sustainable populations of harvested fish and shellfish (for both commercial and recreational uses) |
Marine Fisheries Council | New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (Division of Fish and Wildlife) | Interested in maintaining healthy, viable, and where possible, harvestable populations of fish in marine and coastal waters. Interested in maintaining the bait industry (horseshoe crabs) as well as healthy fish stocks, and a healthy Delaware Bay ecosystem |
Bureau of Marine Fisheries | Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (Division of Fish and Wildlife) | Protect and manage populations of fish and shellfish. Interested in horseshoe crabs as bait for fisheries |
Marine Fisheries Council | Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (Division of Fish and Wildlife) | Advise the Bureau of Marine Fisheries, interested in protect, enhancing and managing harvestable fish and shellfish. Interested in horseshoe crabs as bait for fisheries |
Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program | Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (Division of Fish and Wildlife) | Mandated to protect fish and wildlife in the state, especially endangered and threatened species, and species of special concern |
New Jersey Audubon | New Jersey Audubon | Initially protection of shorebirds (including the red knot), the provision of sufficient horseshoe crab eggs for the shorebirds, and more recently the crabs themselves in a Delaware Bay context |
Other Independent Conservation Groups: New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Littoral Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River | Independently funded | Main interest is in preserving and protecting populations of shorebirds (focused on red knot as a keystone species), horseshoe crabs, and the keystone role of horseshoe crabs in the ecosystem |
Delaware River Keeper | Private contributions and foundations | Main interest is in preserving, protecting, and promoting the Delaware River and associated resources. Also has an education focus about the Bay |