Maryland - House and Senate Approve Bill Banning Terrapin Harvest

The diamondback terrapin scored a victory in the General Assembly yesterday, as the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a ban on catching the state reptile.

Del. Virginia Clagett, D-West River, the bill's main sponsor, was pleased with the 127-10 vote in the House.

She said it's been three years since she started working on terrapin legislation. First she tried unsuccessfully to establish a terrapin day, and more recently she has sponsored bills to shut down the commercial harvest.

"I just think sometimes a good bill takes a few years to get through," she said.

The Senate vote was 43-2. All of Anne Arundel's delegates and senators voted for the bill.

Supporters of the ban argue that terrapins can't handle a commercial harvest. They're long-lived animals that take a long time to reach sexual maturity.

And when terrapins produce eggs, they have a low rate of survival.

Once a Chesapeake delicacy often enjoyed in soup, terrapins have fallen out of favor locally as a food source. But demand from Asian seafood markets has skyrocketed, causing the Maryland commercial harvest to grow.

Terrapins also face pressure from a loss of marshes and beaches where they live, as well as from recreational crab pots, where they can become trapped and drown. The bill doesn't address those problems, though.

Ms. Clagett said she was pleasantly surprised by how much support the bill received. Hearings attracted dozens of proponents, including two terrapins from the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

"I just think popular support has grown," Ms. Clagett said. "It has a life of its own."

Support wasn't unanimous, however.

Though the O'Malley administration supports shutting down the terrapin harvest, officials feel it's better done through regulations from the Department of Natural Resources.

DNR officials have said they have scientists who should be entrusted to make decisions on species management issues. The DNR has proposed a regulation banning the terrapin harvest.

Sen. J. Lowell Stoltzfus, R-Somerset, agreed with that logic and voted against the bill.

"We entrust them to manage our wildlife," he said.

The House and Senate versions of the bill have slight differences. Ms. Clagett said she's confident they can be worked out in a conference committee before the end of the session on April 9.

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Good news!!!

Well, good news in a way. I was hoping the state legislature would stay out of it and let the DNR regulate it.
They were already planning on imposing a ban but could have tweaked the regs as necessary. An actual law though is much more difficult to amend.
In my opinion lawmakers are just not suited to legislating wildlife issues whereas the DNR or equivalent entity in a given state is in place for just such issues.

I haven't read the wording of the law myself though, so it might be better than I'd expect from a bunch of lawmakers.
I want to see the commercial harvest banned, but I'd still like to see a small annual limit allowed to be taken for personal use. I think this is what the DNR had in mind, an initial ban until the situation could be looked at more closely then the institution of permits to catch a small number for personal collectors.