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Attachments : Moratorium proposed on terrapin harvestingWatermen oppose ban, support habitat protectionBy TRAVIS DUNNStaff WriterFebruary 22, 2007 Click an image to enlarge…PHOTO BY CHRIS POLK The Northern Diamondback Terrapin is one of seven subspecies of Diamondbacks found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from Massachusetts to Mexico. Click an image to enlarge…PHOTO BY CHRIS POLK A recently hatched Diamondback Terrapin nest with empty terrapin eggshells. EASTON _ It_s a rare day when watermen want the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to regulate them. When it comes to diamondback terrapin harvesting, however, that_s exactly what the Maryland Waterman_s Association would prefer _ considering that one of the alternatives is a moratorium on terrapin harvesting, proposed in two bills circulating around Annapolis and up for discussion at a DNR meeting Wednesday, Feb. 28. Larry Simns, president of the state waterman_s association, thinks a total shutdown of the terrapin harvest would be a big mistake. First, he said, a moratorium would not address the real problem, which is the destruction of terrapin habitat caused by shoreline development. His organization, however, would accept some regulatory changes rather than a wholesale moratorium. On the other hand, Marguerite Whilden, founder and director of the Shadyside-based Terrapin Institute, thinks a moratorium is long overdue. Whilden, who once worked for the DNR herself, thinks the DNR needs to get serious about protecting the state_s terrapin population. Keeping an accurate count of that population is one step. The DNR took a step in the right direction last year, she said, by implementing a permitting process that gives a more definite idea of how many terrapins are being harvested. That number _ 10,278 _ was more than three times higher than the numbers coming from seafood dealer reports, which previously were believed to be the best method of counting terrapin. While the high number generated by the new permitting process does not necessarily indicate that the terrapin catch is increasing, it does show that many more terrapin were being caught than was generally believed. But Simns is adamant that the watermen are not harming Maryland_s terrapin population. __We_re not the problem. If they_re not going to fix the problem, then they ought to leave us alone,__ said Simns. __We want to see them do something about the real problem. They_ve got to stop developing everything if they want to save anything.__ While Whilden and Simns disagree on the need for a moratorium, they both think the DNR made a big mistake last year in lowering the size limit on terrapin. The DNR introduced a size-range from 4 to 7 inches; the previous size restriction was 6 inches. That regulatory change led to a whole new group of terrapin _ young males _ being harvested. Simns said watermen would routinely throw back these male teenage turtles. But within the past several years, a market for terrapin has opened up in Asian countries, where terrapin are consumed as a delicacy _ and Maryland_s supply of young male terrapin was quickly absorbed. __We_ve been turning them loose for years and years,__ he said. __To me that was a mistake on the department_s part. They lowered (the limit) down too far.__ Changing the regulation on the minimum size makes sense to Simns. But he and other watermen don_t like the idea of a legislated moratorium coming from Annapolis. Del. Virginia P. Clagett, D-30-Anne Arundel, introduced one bill (HB 760) calling for a moratorium in the House of Delegates. Sen. Roy P. Dyson, D-29-Calvert, brought forward a similar bill in the state Senate. For more information on these bills, go to http://mlis.state.md.us/2007rs/billfile/SB0532.htm and http://mlis.state.md.us/2007RS/billfile/hb0760.htm. In addition, the DNR will hold a public meeting on terrapin harvesting regulations at 6:30 Wednesday, Feb. 28. in the C-1 conference room at the Tawes State Office Building, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis. Questions about the meeting should be referred to Gina Hunt, at the Fisheries Service, Tawes State Office Building, B-2, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401, at 410-260-8326 or at ghunt@…. Marguerite WhildenThe Terrapin InstituteP. O. Box 51Edgewater, MD 21037Voice 410 370 9171FAX 410 757 9268www.terrapininstitute.org “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”