Three Years Probation for Turtle Distribution?

The sale of turtles with shells measuring less than four inches has been illegal since 1975, but what happens if you break that law and get caught?  Not much.  One Florida man was recently prosecuted for doing just that and impersonating a federal agent (in a threatening letter he sent one of his competitors), yet he got off with three years probation.  There's no mention of any fines.  Do they really think his attorney's bill and further inconveniences are enough of a punishment?

Volunteers Needed to Clean Up Turtle Habitat

If you have some free time between between now and mid March which you would like to use to help turtles, consider volunteering at Biscayne National Park in southern Florida. For the low, low cost of a day cleaning beaches, you get a sunny boat ride to the islands and the satisfaction of knowing you helped restore threatened turtle nesting grounds.

Where to See Sea Turtles in Florida

If you're trying to figure out where you can see sea turtles in their natural habitats in Florida, you need to visit this site.  They list all the captive turtle facilities and public turtle watches in the state!  Pokey and I think it's a turtley awesome resource.

You Tube Tuesday - Therapy Turtle

If only I had started teaching Pokey tricks when she was younger...

Josh from "Its Tiger Time" invented You Tube Tuesday so we could each share one video a week which we found to be fun, inspiring or otherwise noteworthy.  If you choose to participate, don't forget to leave your links in my comments section (so I can come visit you) and on Josh's page (so you can be part of the contest).  I hope you like this week's selection!

Hurricane Irene's Smallest Victims

Many baby sea turtle nests were unearthed, destroyed and / or relocated by Hurricane Irene. I learned from this article that my first instinct in this situation is not correct. Though I may want to "rescue" the tiny turtle and take it to a conservation group, they are actually more likely to survive if I leave them on the beach to fight with nature. So, its probably a good thing I live on the west coast. I'm not sure I could just sit there and watch the hatchlings get battered by the storm.

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Sea Turtle Mural in Hollywood

I got really excited when I first saw this headline: High over Hollywood, Sea Turtles. I thought I might have a new piece of turtle art relatively close by, but the mural is going up in Florida. It makes sense. They have more endangered turtles living there than in L.A., but I'm selfish. I want to see Sea Turtles when I travel to smell-a. It would make getting stuck in traffic much more pleasant.

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The Snappy Turtle

My friend Jessica has shown me a most interesting turtle related photo. Apparently there is a clothing store in Florida called Snappy Turtle. The clothes look quite nice, stylish, but I don't understand the name. As Jessica says... A turtle couldn't wear anything in that store. There sure as heck better not be any turtle shell jewelry in their either. I might be tempted to leave them a live snapping turtle surprise if there was!

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Tracking Sea Turtles

While I am mildly excited to think of the things we could learn about the swimming patterns of a sea turtle through the experiment outlined in this article, I'm not sure how I feel about the tracking device they are using.  Is it ok to glue something onto a back of a sea turtle?  How do we know the glue is safe and won't seep into their pores through the shell?  Thankfully, the article states that they swam as if nothing was on their backs, so that calms me a little, but...  well, what do you think? 

Peek-A-Boo Turtle

Lisa's turtles were playing peek-a-boo with her again today. Go visit our softshell friends. They're cute!

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Pokey's First Softshell Turtle Friend

Pokey made a friend!  Lisa has a pond in her back yard where this Florida Softshell Turtle lives with a few chicken turtle friends.  Softshell Turtles like to bury themselves in the sand, but this one always comes out when Lisa wanders over to the pond because she brings bread.  Normally this turtle feasts on fish, frogs and other pond inhabitants, but we all have our empty calory indulgences, right? Perhaps this softshell was a duck in its past life and simply cannot give up it's bread addiction?  All I know is we shouldn't knock the food choices of one of the prime turtle food targets.  Softshell turtles are being hunted all over Florida right now because companies in Asia are willing to pay top dollar for their meat.  Thank you Lisa for keeping Pokey's Softshell Turtle friend safe!  :)

If you would like to thank Lisa for sharing her turtle photos, you can visit her at her blogs:  The Diet Talk, What I Love About Painting, and How Do I Get Whiter Teeth.

Florida Proposes New Ordinance to Protect Baby Sea Turtles

According to Local10.com officials will meet tomorrow at 5:30 PM at the Hollywood Beach Culture and Community Center to discuss a new ordinance that would protect baby sea turtles trying to find their way to the ocean for the first time. Hatchlings can be distracted from their trek to the beach by any lights in the area, thus officials are discussing dimming the lights on the beach to help the baby sea turtles find their way to the ocean. If you live in the area, please find your way down there to thank the politicians for their concern and to voice your approval for the ordinance. Hatchlings face enough threats from nature. It's about time we helped them find their way.

http://www.local10.com/news/17991850/detail.html

Save the Softshell

Since 75% of asia's 90 tortoise and freshwater turtle species are now endangered or extinct, they must turn to the global market in order to feed the insatiable demand, particularly that of China. The United States proved to provide the most competitive cost for turtle meat and thus has been a primary source for obtaining the supposedly medicinal and edifying protein source. Gradually, various states have placed bans or restrictions on commercial fishing to protect further species from extinction. The pressure is now on in Florida to protect the species the Chinese claim to have the most palatable meat: the softshell turtle.

Previous restrictions limited commercial fishermen to a few select lakes during the appropriate season and new regulations state that a non-licensed fisherman may only catch 5 turtles per day, while licensed fisherman may take up to 20. Locals and commercial fishermen are outraged at the new limitations and feel there is no threat to the current population, but it seems to me they are ignorant of the reality that it takes 10 years for a turtle to reach maturity. There is no way the current turtle trade can continue to harvest and export up to 3,000 lbs. per week out of Tampa International Airport and expect the species to remain undepleted.

For the fishermen to whine about their change in possible income seems even more rediculous. With the going rate being $2/lb, an agressive fisherman who follows the rules could make $1500 - $2000 per week by harvesting approximately 140 turtles... still too generous, if you ask me. We must urge the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commision to act swiftly in their study of the impact on the population and to tighten regulations as soon as possible. While I agree with the Chinese that turtles are truly magical creatures, I do not belive you need to ingest them for your life to be enhanced.