From Terrapin Stew to Terrapin Who?
The Little Turtle the World Forgot
by Christopher Boykin

If you mentioned the word terrapin a hundred years ago, virtually everyone would've known you were talking about the tasty little turtles that live in the marsh. From the 1880s through the 1930s, soup made from female diamondback terrapins could be found in the kitchens of all cultures and classes in the United States, particularly in coastal areas. They were considered a delicacy, revered as the single best thing you could put on the dinner table.

As you might expect, their popularity caused their decline. In Maryland - the only state to keep detailed records - terrapin harvest peaked in 1891 with over 58,000 females captured. (At nearly three times the size of males, female turtles made much better stew.) By 1900, the harvest had dropped to a mere 1,400 terrapin. Depleted stocks led to increased prices and then Prohibition became their saving grace, because alcohol was a key ingredient in terrapin stew. People all but forgot what had been one of the most economically important reptiles in the history of the world.

If you're reading this and thinking, "I thought terrapin was just another name for a turtle," you're not alone. Most park rangers I've spoken with along the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard aren't quite sure what a terrapin is either.

So what exactly is a terrapin? The Diamondback Terrapin is a species of turtle restricted to the North American continent from Massachusetts to Texas, found in salt marsh and mangrove habitats. Of the more than 350 species of turtles in the world, there is only one species of terrapin, though the species is divided into seven sub-species, five of which can be found in Florida. The ornate diamondback terrapin that occurs in Tampa Bay is found from Collier County north to the Florida panhandle.

Even with 70 years to recover from intense harvesting, terrapins have not staged a significant rebound. Bridges and roads in coastal areas have become modern-day cutting boards for females attempting to lay their eggs. Dr. Roger Wood documented 2,375 female terrapin mortalities on the Cape May Peninsula of New Jersey between 1990 and 1992. While visiting with family in Beaufort, S.C. back in 1999, I was alarmed to find 45 females killed along a short stretch of road near the marsh.

Predation of nests and even adult terrapins by raccoons has become an increasingly significant problem over the past two decades. Raccoons are curious and beautiful little masked bandits who love more than anything to suck the sweet juices from turtle eggs. They don't discriminate either. Sea turtle, soft-shell, cooter, and terrapin - you name the species and chances are raccoons eat them. This predator-prey relationship has been going on for eons, so why the big fuss?

Raccoons are crafty little critters that have adapted quite nicely, perhaps even capitalized on urban sprawl. There are more raccoons than ever before, and their appetite for eggs has taken an enormous toll on turtle populations. Predation of terrapin nests at Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge in New York rose from 7% in the 1980s to over 92% in the late '90s. As much as 10% of the nesting females are eaten by raccoons when they nest at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Closer to home, I have collected 41 adult terrapins killed by raccoons at Tarpon Key near Fort DeSoto, including 13 animals that I had marked since the study began in 1997.

Terrapins also have become by-catch in blue crab traps. Typically set in shallow inshore waters of marshes, around islands and near shorelines, baited traps attract the air-breathing reptiles, particularly the males which are smaller than females. They drown unless the trap is checked in less than two hours.

Combined, these threats have taken such a toll on this beautiful, elusive and unique species that for over a decade scientists have been recommending that they be classified as a federally threatened species. However, due to a lack of research, the recommendation is still pending and an emphasis has been placed on research. This has prompted graduate students and biologists from across the nation to begin monitoring populations more closely to document declining and stable populations along with the impacts of road mortalities, raccoon predation and by-catch.

For the past six years I have been closely monitoring a population of ornate diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin macrospilota) at Tarpon Key. I utilize three sampling methods to capture terrapins. The first method is by hand, capturing them in the island's lagoon during extreme low tides in January when they are hibernating. The second method, though costly, involves highly modified blue crab traps baited with chum on a rising tide. The third, and most laborious, method consists of walking through the extensive black mangrove forests to find terrapins foraging on snails that cover the black mangroves' pneumatophores. This method also allows me to search for nesting sites and to find terrapins that were ravaged by raccoons.

All together, I've captured and marked 140 individual terrapins a total of 262 times during the past six seasons, which run from September through December to avoid nesting birds. Nesting sites have been located at Tarpon Key, but all nests found had been predated by raccoons. Only two juvenile terrapins have been encountered during my surveys, although there seems to be an ample number of sub-adult males and females, indicating that some nests have survived.

Although diamondback terrapins were forgotten when appetites exceeded their populations, scientists, environmental educators and naturalists have begun to turn their attention back to this handsome little turtle. In New Jersey, students patrol roadways and collect the eggs from females that have been killed by automobiles. The eggs are incubated and the hatchlings released. More and more parks have begun to screen terrapin nests, just as they do for sea turtle nests, to prevent predation. Maryland and New Jersey have passed legislation that requires commercial and recreational blue crab fishermen to use bycatch reduction devices in certain situations. Community efforts in Galveston Bay and North Carolina locate and remove submerged traps which are no longer serviceable.

It is likely that other state governments will adopt regulations to prevent further terrapin mortality, and they will probably be listed as Threatened or Species of Special Concern in the upcoming years. Though much of the damage was done decades ago, terrapin populations are still extremely small and scattered throughout their range.

If you're out and about in the waters of Tampa Bay, keep your eyes open, especially around mangrove islands, and you just might catch a glimpse of one of these junior sea turtles as they surface to breathe and then scurry back down into the sea grasses.

Christopher Boykin has always been a "turtle person," keeping box turtles, snapping turtles, cooters and a gopher tortoise as pets - even trading his lunch money with other kids for hatchling sliders. A graduate of Florida Keys Community College and Eckerd College, he plans to attend graduate school at the University of Miami. He met his first diamondback terrapin at the Turtle Kraals in Key West - "simply one of the most beautiful turtles I had ever seen." His ongoing research at Tarpon Key is largely unfunded, and additional volunteers are welcome. Contact him at cboykin@tampabay.rr.com or 727-481-6136.