From
the
|
|
By Tom Pelton
Sun reporter
Lewis, a 59-year-old
waterman, has transformed himself into the terrapin king. Over the last year,
he used a bulldozer to dig five large holding tanks in former cornfields, and
he's stocked the ponds with more than 2,000 diamondback terrapin. He's created
"They are a little bit
shy," he said, pointing to turtles wobbling down a weedy bank and plopping
into water the color of chocolate milk. "Right now, turtles seem to be the
best avenue for revenue."
Lewis figures aquaculture
is the best way a lifelong turtle-trapper like him can adapt to the growing
restrictions in Eastern states. Starting today, it is illegal in
Some conservationists and
legislators are pushing for a year-round ban on catching the proud symbol of
Terrapin are unique because
they're the only turtle in the
Growing up to a foot in
length and living for up to half a century, the turtles are called
"diamondback" because of the raised patterns on their shells. They
have black-and-white spotted necks, webbed feet with claws (which they use to
dig up mollusks), and an ability to hibernate for months under mud without
breathing or eating.
The species survived
near-extinction during a turtle soup craze a century ago, then
partially rebounded, according to a new book Diamonds in the Marsh, by
biologist Barbara Brennessel. But now the "terps" are once again on a
losing streak. They are being killed by a growing appetite in
"The broader fate of
the species does not look promising," Brennessel wrote. "This meek
turtle is being threatened from all directions, land and sea. Scientists,
naturalists and conservation minded-citizens ... are taking action to prevent
the decimation of our only brackish water turtle."
Lewis, who has been
catching terrapin since he was a kid and fondly remembers
eating turtle pot pie baked by his grandmother, sees the writing on the wall.
"I don't really want
the state to institute a ban on terrapin catching," he said. "But if
the state does ban them, and I'm the only turtle farmer in
The state's new regulations
- designed to help save
Regulations that took
effect Aug. 1 prohibit catching terrapin longer than seven inches, protecting
larger, breeding-age females. But a little-discussed
part of the rules also allows the trapping of smaller turtles, from four to six
inches, which until August were off-limits.
This change allows males,
which are smaller than females, to be caught for the first time. "The new
regulations caused a spike in people going after the diamondbacks," Lewis
said.
As soon as the catching of
smaller turtles was legalized this summer, Lewis said, he bought 5,000 terrapin
from other watermen -- and quickly resold 2,500 to a turtle dealer in
Kurt Pittman, a waterman
from Princess Anne who also catches turtles, said the new size and season limits
have doubled the price of terrapins, to about $5 each. "There weren't but
a handful of us catching turtles before this," said Pittman. "Now
more people are getting into the business, and that means more pressure on the
turtles."
Fewer than 10 watermen in
Howard King, director of
fisheries programs at the department, said the state never meant to stimulate
more terrapin harvesting. "That was unintended," King said of the
growing market for smaller turtles. "We have heard that the taking of
small terrapins is fostering a pet trade, and we don't want that."
He said his agency might
clamp down after it gets reports this winter on the number of terrapins caught.
He said it's unclear if the number of turtle catchers has risen or if more
people are simply admitting to trapping.
Marguerite Whilden, a
former state fisheries planner who runs a nonprofit group called the Terrapin
Institute, said Lewis' new turtle farm -- and his ability to buy thousands of
wild terrapin over the summer -- shows that the state's new regulations have
backfired. "That's a huge mistake, to allow that type of wildlife farming
on a huge scale," Whilden said.
She is pushing a moratorium
on catching all terrapin, a measure proposed by state Del. Virginia Clagett
last spring. A task force of experts assembled by former Gov. Parris N.
Glendening in 2001 suggested a moratorium, but the Ehrlich administration
instead imposed the current regulations.
Don Webster, a
Although Lewis has the only
turtle farm in
In 1887, a Crisfield turtle
rancher named Albert T. Lavallette Jr. used marketing savvy and a recipe for
A
Although the main market
for food today is
Lewis gave a tour of his
reptilian plantation on a recent morning, showing off the 50-acre farm where
his grandfather once slaughtered hogs to make scrapple. He walked around the
ponds containing not only about 2,200 terrapin, but also 1,300 snapping
turtles, 3,000 eastern painted turtles and about 400 red-bellies.
Lewis kicked the chicken
wire ringing the largest lagoon, then stepped back. A
huge snapping turtle, bristling with horns, bumps and dried mud, shot out its
long neck. The pink mouth gaped like a snake's, and its beak snapped near his
boot.
He laughed. "I like
snappers so much, my wife tells me I'm like a snapping turtle."
He picked up a smaller
terrapin. Its horny jaw seemed to bend into a smile. "These are pretty
gentle turtles, the diamondback," he said.
Beside his cinderblock barn
is a pile of turtle traps, fashioned from metal hoops and netting. Inside is a
small hatchery, built from plywood, with shelves, stacks of clear plastic
boxes, electric baseboard heaters and an air conditioner.
He said his wife this spring
dug scores of pinkish-white, leathery terrapin eggs from the mud around the
pond. Then she placed them in the plastic containers, which the couple kept
warm until they hatched.
"We are sending the
babies to
tom.pelton@baltsun.com