In June, a crab pot half-filled with dead diamondback terrapins was found in shallow waters near Ocean City. Like crabs, the turtles likely sensed the tasty bait inside, but unlike shellfish, they lacked the gills to breathe underwater. In all, Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials counted 20 drowned terrapins in the single crab pot.
Unfortunately, the circumstances were hardly unusual. That same week, DNR charged a St. Mary's County man with failing to equip his crab pots with devices to prevent the drowning of diamondback terrapins. Joseph William Sullivan, 47, was also charged with possessing undersized crabs; he'd been catching crabs off his dock with 16 pots, which is 14 more than a recreational crabber is allowed under state law.
Diamondbacks are something of a revered species in Maryland, designated not only as the state reptile but the mascot of the University of Maryland, College Park. The turtles were once among the most prized seafood catch of the Chesapeake Bay; they were regarded as so valuable that a 1797 state statute restricted the use of terrapin as a food for slaves.
But the diamondback terrapin has been in decline, the commercial harvest closed by the state in 2007. Loss of habitat, boat strikes, high levels of nest predation by raccoons and foxes, and loss of shoreline nesting areas have all contributed. But crabs pots are among the biggest culprits, particularly those located in shallow waters and checked infrequently.
No one quite knows how many terrapins remain in the Chesapeake and the coastal bays around Ocean City. But the losses have been high enough for the state to classify them as a species of "greatest conservation need." It's a helpful designation (qualifying the state for federal research dollars), but it affords them no special legal status as "threatened" or "endangered" species receive.
Surveys conducted around Maryland have produced mixed results, and experts say it's difficult to judge whether the turtles are rebounding or remain in decline — high mortality rates among the young coupled with high longevity by the adults (terrapins may live 40 years or more) make it difficult to assess.
But here's where average Marylanders can help. Crab pots filled with dead terrapins can be relatively easily avoided. Under law, pots used by waterfront property owners must be equipped with what's known as a BRD or Bycatch Reduction Device in each entry funnel. They are essentially 4 3/4-inch by 1 3/4-inch doors that allow crabs to enter crab pots but block adult turtles.
Studies suggest BRDs are about 82 percent effective, and while they may not have prevented the Ocean City incident (it was likely a commercial pot that had become detached from its float by a boat strike and drifted to shore), DNR officials say the crab pots of waterfront land owners are far more likely to kill terrapins than commercial pots. The trouble is that while BRDs have become standard issue with pots purchased today at the local tackle shop, a lot of old pots don't have them and their owners are either unaware of the law or haven't bothered to retrofit.
How bad is the problem? Officials say a 2012 survey found only about 36 percent of crab pots used near shore had them and suspect it's probably in the neighborhood of 50 percent today. Considering the devices cost only about $2 each, that's a pretty sad state of affairs — and it suggests that perhaps a bit more education and enforcement is required.
We certainly wouldn't begrudge a waterfront property owner the right to catch crabs to the extent the law allows, especially now that Chesapeake Bay blue crabs appear to be making something of a comeback. But the responsibility to preserve diamondback terrapins for future generations ought to be taken seriously, and installing an inexpensive plastic BRD or two or four is hardly a major imposition. And while diamondbacks will likely never be as abundant as they were a couple of centuries ago, Xfinity Center and Maryland Stadium in College Park ought not be the only place a Maryland resident can find a living terrapin, particularly (spoiler alert) when it's actually just a student dressed up in a Testudo suit.