State Proposing Harvesting Ban On Diamondback Terrapin Turtles Of Bergen County

The Christie administration has proposed a ban on harvesting diamondback terrapin turtles — the only turtle species to inhabit the Hackensack River — due to a steep decline is population.

The rule proposal would close the harvest season on the turtles indefinitely. The proposal following two partial season closures ordered by Bob Martin, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection. The closures were done after massive harvesting of the turtles to meet market demands, especially in Asia, were discovered.

The turtles get their name from the diamond-shaped pattern on their shells. They live exclusively in coastal marshes, including in the Meadowlands.

Commercial harvesting of diamondback terrapins had been from Nov. 1 through March 31 and done by a small numbers of harvesters by hand. In 2013, one harvester took more than 3,500 terrapins from two locations in South Jersey using a commercial crabbing dredge. The turtles were sold to an aquaculture facility in Maryland. The turtles were used to raise 14,000 terrapins and sell them overseas.

“That incident was really a wake-up call, making us realize just how vulnerable this species had become,” said Division of Fish and Wildlife Director David Chanda. “We have plenty of observational and anecdotal evidence that the species has been in decline. We need to take a step back and get a better handle on the measures that will be needed to restore this species.”

Diamondback terrapins is considered a species of special concern. As part of the recovery effort, the state will be assessing populations, ecological data, and habitat needs.

Diamondback terrapin turtles — Wikipedia Commons