The state of Florida does not require turtle excluder devices in crab traps, but the state’s diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are drowning in them. In response, an international group of turtle experts sent a petition to the state to require these devices. The group, convened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, sent a letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, asking it to endorse a rule to include bycatch reduction devices in crab pots used in the state. The rule was written by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust and the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group.
George Heinrich noted that diamondback terrapins get caught in crab pots and drown, according to turtle experts. The Center states that diamondback terrapins, the only turtle found living in estuaries on the east coast, drown in these pots because they have no way to escape. Information on diamondback terrapin natural history and captive care is also available. Craig Stanford, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, said in a media statement: “Diamondback terrapins are an iconic animal of our inland coastal waters. They become trapped and drown by the thousands in crab pots, which pose a grave mortality risk to their future survival in the state of Florida. This mortality can be easily reduced by attaching bycatch reduction devices to crab pots.” These bycatch reduction devices are already required in New York and New Jersey on commercial and recreational crab pots. Delaware and Maryland require them on recreational pots, and North Carolina is considering similar measures. A 2009 study found 133 dead terrapins in two abandoned crab pots in Georgia. The diamondback terrapin is a medium-sized turtle with a gray black carapace and varying shell patterns and skin colors. Females tend to grow larger than males, with males reaching about five inches in length and females reaching nine inches.
