Turtle bill passes
The New Jersey Legislature has unanimously passed a bill that would ban harvesting of the diamondback terrapin, which is believed to be the only turtle in the world that lives in brackish waters with mixed salinity. The federal government classifies the terrapin, known as Malaclemys terrapin, as a species of "special concern," and most states between Massachusetts and Florida have already imposed moratoriums.
The New Jersey Legislature has unanimously passed a bill that would ban harvesting of the diamondback terrapin, which is believed to be the only turtle in the world that lives in brackish waters with mixed salinity. The federal government classifies the terrapin, known as Malaclemys terrapin, as a species of "special concern," and most states between Massachusetts and Florida have already imposed moratoriums.
The bill, which is on Gov. Christie's desk, mirrors a regulation being considered by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The agency is weighing whether to end the November-to-April harvest season in the state, a DEP spokesman said.
The terrapin, a medium-size turtle with a patterned earth-tone carapace, is sold to Asian markets, where it is purchased as a food item, a pet, and an ingredient in traditional medicine, according to the DEP.
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D., Cape May), a sponsor of the bill that was approved last week, said the legislation would afford stronger protection to the turtle than the DEP moratorium "because it's easier to change a regulation than a law." He said he first introduced the bill in December 2014 after seeing terrapins decline at the Shore, where they were being hit by motor vehicles on their way to nesting grounds. He also said some schoolchildren had written to him asking for a measure "to save these turtles."
The terrapin inhabits the state's coastal salt marshes and estuaries along the Atlantic coast and Delaware Bay.
It plays "a significant role in our coastal ecosystem," said Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak (D., Atlantic), another bill sponsor. He said the terrapin "is threatened by loss of habitat, road mortality and increased demand from food markets overseas that has intensified its harvest. This bill would help protect our diamondbacks from going down the road toward extinction."
The terrapin's plight was highlighted in 2013 when the federal Fish and Wildlife Service alerted the state that it had discovered several harvesters had illegally trapped 3,522 adult terrapins from South Jersey marshes for sale to an aquaculture facility in Maryland for breeding. The facility then exported more than 14,000 offspring for sale overseas.
The legislation would prohibit harvesters and anyone else from taking any terrapin or any of its eggs or nests. The measure would designate the diamondback terrapin a nongame indigenous species subject to the same laws, rules, and regulations governing other nongame indigenous reptiles in the state.
Under another provision, the bill would require the DEP commissioner to investigate the terrapin population and habitat to determine what measures should be taken to protect the species.
DEP's proposed ban is expected to be approved this summer, before the Nov. 1 harvest would begin, according to DEP spokesman Larry Hajna. He said the agency would receive public comment June 13, at 6 p.m., at the Stafford Township Municipal Building in Manahawkin. Hajna also said the DEP plans to study the terrapin and decide whether it should be placed on a list to receive special protection.
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