Commercial Turtle Harvest

Transcription

1 Commercial Turtle Harvest Minnesota Page M INNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES In 212 & 213, 27 Minnesotans were awarded commercial turtle harvest licenses. Of these, 16 (9%) reported harvesting turtles. In 212, 1,7 turtles (painted, snapping, and spiny softshell) were reported harvested, and 4,444 turtles were reported caught and released. In 213, 6,132 turtles (painted, snapping, and spiny softshell) were reported harvested, and 3,91 turtles were reported caught and released. Summary of commercial turtle harvest Species Caught & Released # of Harvesters # of Counties ped Painted (Chrysemys picta) 8,28,12 3,2 2, Snapping (Chelydra serpintina) 1, Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera) Map Turtle (Graptemys species) Blanding s (Emydoidea blandingii) TOTAL 1,7 6,146 4,444 3,38 16 (duplicates assessed) 16 (duplicates assessed) 36 (duplicates assessed) 33 (duplicates assessed) Painted turtle harvest # of Turtles Caught & Released Snapping turtle harvest # of turtles Caught & Released Number of commercial licenses issued # of Licenses Note: except for renewals, commercial licenses stopped being issued in 22.

2 Commercial Turtle Harvest Page 2 Painted Turtles: 212 harvest 14 of the 27 (2%) licensed harvesters reported trapping painted turtles (Chrysemys picta), the species with highest harvest numbers by commercial licensees. 8,28 painted turtles were reported to have been harvested, an 1% increase over the 211 harvest level of 3,319. An additional 3,2 turtles were caught and released. The painted turtle catch per unit effort (CPUE) in 212 averaged 1.8 turtles per trap per day (based on floating traps only). Painted Turtle Harvest by County Becker 61 Le Sueur 3 Beltrami 16 Meeker 13 Blue Earth 114 Otter Tail 297 Carver 6 Polk Chisago 948 Pope 2 Clearwater 8 Rice 424 Douglas 97 Stearns 34 Grant 771 Todd 236 Itasca 11 Washington 33 Kandiyohi 17 Wright (Not reported) 2292 Painted Turtle Harvest by Gear GEAR TYPE # of # Turtles % of Gear Total Floating 337 4, % 24 1, % Hook N/A 1,99 23.% Hand N/A % Other Unk % TOTALS 41 8,28

3 Commercial Turtle Harvest Page 3 Painted Turtles: 213 harvest 1 of the 27 (37%) licensed harvesters reported trapping painted turtles (Chrysemys picta), the species with highest numbers harvested by commercial licensees.,12 painted turtles were reported to have been harvested (a 38% decrease from the 212 harvest level), and 2,6 were caught and released. The painted turtle catch per unit effort (CPUE) in 213 averaged 1.7 turtles per trap per day (based only on floating traps). Painted Turtle Harvest by County Becker 186 Meeker 26 Carver 199 Otter Tail 673 Chisago 316 Pope 1 Douglas 371 Rice 278 Grant 398 Stearns 362 Isanti 2 Todd 131 Itasca 113 Wright 146 Kandiyohi 77 Painted Turtle Harvest by Gear GEAR TYPE # of # Turtles % of Gear Total Floating 114 2, % % Hook N/A 2, % Hand N/A 1 Other % TOTALS 29,12

4 Commercial Turtle Harvest Page 4 Snapping Turtles: 212 harvest 14 of the 27 (2%) licensed harvesters reported trapping snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina), the species with the second highest numbers harvested by commercial licensees. 1,88 snapping turtles were reported to have been harvested, a 9% increase from 211 harvest levels. An additional 98 turtles were caught and released. The snapping turtle catch per unit effort (CPUE) in 212 averaged.7 turtles per trap per day (based on submerged traps only). Snapping Turtle Harvest by Gear GEAR TYPE # of # Turtles % of Gear Total Floating 1 8.% 77 1, % Hook N/A % Hand N/A 1.% Other 1.3% TOTALS 79 1,88 Snapping Turtle Harvest by County Becker 83 Meeker 9 Beltrami 4 Otter Tail 138 Brown 66 Pennington 18 Chippewa 21 Polk 48 Clay 67 Pope 62 Clearwater 8 Redwood Douglas 137 Renville 21 Goodhue 12 Rice 14 Grant 14 Scott 4 Hennepin 32 Stearns 13 Hubbard 4 Stevens 2 Itasca 6 Swift Kandiyohi 16 Wilkin 11 Le Sueur 18 Wright 114 Mahnomen 83 Yellow Medicine 11

5 Commercial Turtle Harvest Page Snapping Turtles: 213 harvest 16 of the 27 (9%) licensed harvesters reported trapping snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina), the species with the second highest numbers harvested by commercial licensees. 881 snapping turtles were reported to have been harvested (a 4% reduction from the 212 harvest of 1,88), and 71 turtles were caught and released. The snapping turtle catch per unit effort (CPUE) in 213 averaged.6 turtles per trap per day (based only on submerged traps). Snapping Turtle Harvest by Gear GEAR TYPE # of Gear # Turtles % of Total Floating % % Hook N/A % Hand N/A 7.8% Other Unknown 7 Unk 21 TOTALS % 1.% Snapping Turtle Harvest by County Becker 13 McLeod 23 Blue Earth 26 Meeker 132 Brown 29 Mower 1 Chippewa 18 Olmsted 37 Chisago 13 Otter Tail 29 Clay 49 Pennington Clearwater 4 Polk 32 Douglas 36 Pope 23 Faribault 22 Rice 26 Grant 16 Sibley 19 Hubbard 1 Stearns 21 Isanti 4 Stevens 2 Itasca 7 Swift 17 Jackson 6 Todd 26 Kandiyohi 13 Waseca 11 Le Sueur 1 Wright 29

6 Commercial Turtle Harvest Page 6 Spiny Softshell Turtles: 212 harvest 3 of the 27 (11%) licensed harvesters reported trapping spiny softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera), the species with the lowest numbers harvested by commercial licensees. 22 spiny softshell turtles were reported to have been harvested, (a 1,% increase from 211 levels when only 2 turtles were harvested). An additional 23 turtles were caught and released. The spiny softshell turtle catch per unit effort (CPUE) in 212 averaged.6 turtles per trap per day (based only on submerged traps). Spiny Softshell Turtle Harvest by County Chippewa 161 Pope 7 Goodhue 3 Swift 6 Spiny Softshell Turtle Harvest by Gear GEAR TYPE # of Gear # Turtles % of Total Floating Otter Tail % Hook N/A Hand N/A Other TOTALS 3 22

7 Commercial Turtle Harvest Page 7 Spiny Softshell Turtles: 213 harvest of the 27 (19%) licensed harvesters reported trapping spiny softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera), the species with the lowest numbers harvested by commercial licensees. 163 spiny softshell turtles were reported to have been harvested (a 19% decrease from the 212 harvest of 22 turtles), and 131 were caught and released. The spiny softshell turtle catch per unit effort (CPUE) in 213 averaged.7 turtles per trap per day of effort. Spiny Softshell Turtle Harvest by County Blue Earth 23 Olmsted 1 Chippewa 7 Pope 7 Spiny Softshell Turtle Harvest by Gear GEAR TYPE # of Gear # Turtles % of Total Floating 4 Jackson 69 Swift Meeker Todd % Mower 6 Waseca 16 Hook N/A Hand N/A Other TOTALS

8 Commercial Turtle Harvest Page 8 For more information about this report, please contact: Krista Larson, Nongame Research Biologist MN DNR, Div. of Ecol. and Water Resources Lafayette Road, Box 2 St. Paul, Minnesota 1 Phone: (61) krista.larson@state.mn.us For information about turtle harvest licensing, please contact: Neil Vanderbosch, Commercial Fishing Program Coordinator MN DNR, Div. of Fish and Wildlife Lafayette Road St. Paul, Minnesota 1 Phone: (61) neil.vanderbosch@state.mn.us Report Author: Krista Larson