Alligator
Snapping Turtle Harvest Limited
Posted:
11/23/04
The alligator
snapping turtle, or loggerhead, once a common site in Louisiana
markets, can no longer legally be trapped for commercial sale.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary
Dwight Landreneau has signed a regulation that not only bans
commercial harvest, but limits personal take of the turtles
to one per day per boat or vehicle.
America's largest
freshwater turtle was once processed by the thousands each
year in Louisiana, ending up in turtle soups and gumbos. Although
that market had waned during the 1980s, biologists were concerned
that loggerhead populations and their habitat were decreased.
In response, LDWF placed commercial size and recreational
take limits on the turtles in 1993.
By 1998, Louisiana
was the only state that allowed commercial harvest of alligator
snapping turtles. Concern about the harvest led Sen. Robert
Barham to ask the Louisiana Legislature for a moratorium.
That moratorium took effect Nov. 20.
The alligator snapper
can no longer legally be taken from the wild for commerce,
and the sale of the turtles, their meat, shells and other
parts is prohibited. However, licensed turtle farmers will
still be allowed to sell alligator snappers that hatch from
their breeding stock, and Louisiana residents can still satisfy
their culinary desires and traditions by doing their own trapping.
Back
to Main
