The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will meet on December 15th and 16th in Destin and will likely change state regulations on diamondback terrapins and blue crab traps.
Diamondback terrapins are medium-sized turtles that live in brackish water habitat where blue crabs tend to live, including salt marshes, barrier islands, mangrove swamps, tidal creeks and rivers.
Diamondback terrapin populations are in decline throughout their habitat from habitat loss, growing popularity in the global pet trade, illegal collection as well as climate change.
Because of overlapping habitat, there is also the potential for terrapins to be accidentally caught in blue crab traps.
The state is planning to approve new rules this month that would ban the take and possession of diamondback terrapins and require all recreational blue crab traps to have rigid entrances no larger than 2 x 6 inches at the narrowest point or a 2 x 6-inch bycatch reduction device by March 1st, 2023.
If the rule changes are approved at the December meeting, they will go into effect March 1, 2022.
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