Interstate fishing regulators are limiting the harvest of a primordial species of invertebrate to try to help rebuild its population and aid a threatened species of bird.

Fishermen harvest horseshoe crabs on the East Coast for use as bait and in biomedical products. The animals are declining in some of their range, and they’re critically important as a food source for the red knot, a migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said it will allow no harvest of female horseshoe crabs that originate in the Delaware Bay during the 2024 fishing season. The Delaware Bay is one of the most important ecosystems for the crabs, which are also harvested in large numbers in New England.

The crabs are used as bait for eels and sea snails. Their blue blood is also used to test for potentially dangerous impurities by drug and medical device makers.

Feds eye expanding radio spectrum

The White House on Monday announced a strategy to potentially expand the availability of radio spectrum needed for cellphones, satellites, navigation, space travel and other emerging technologies.

The National Telecommunications Information Administration will perform a two-year study on how to possibly repurpose 2,786 megahertz of spectrum, which could be used for wireless broadband, drones, and satellites.

The increasingly digitized and mobile economy has put pressure on the available range of frequencies used for wireless communication.

“We all understand the spectrum is crowded, demand is growing fast,” said Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “This is a way to break through the limitations of today.”