Environmentalists are seeking to place the Atlantic horseshoe crab on the Endangered Species List.
The Center for Biological Diversity and 22 other organizations petition NOAA, claiming that overharvesting and habitat loss prompt listing.
The species's blood is harvested by biomedical companies for use in research and to detect toxins and has doubled in recent years to more than 1 million crabs annually.
The crab's strongest population is in Delaware Bay but can be spotted along North Carolina's coasts.
