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(Click on photo for larger image.)

FWC staff found this soft-shell
turtle in a South Florida canal last year. This species of
turtle can reach lengths of 2 feet.
(FWC photo by Kevin Enge)
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FWC announces closed seasons on
harvesting river cooters and soft-shell turtles
April 8, 2008
Contact: Patricia Behnke, 850-410-5291; cell 850-251-2130
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) has announced closed seasons for harvest of
river cooters and their eggs from April 15 to July 31 and
soft-shell turtles and their eggs from May 1 to July 31. During
other times of the year, the river cooter is a protected
species, with a daily bag limit of two turtles and two eggs.
Other protected species and their eggs in
Florida include alligator snapping turtles, limit one turtle and
one egg; loggerhead musk turtles, box turtles, Barbour’s map
turtles, Escambia River map turtles and diamondback terrapins,
all with a limit of two turtles and two eggs throughout the
year. The Suwannee cooter, a subspecies of the river cooter, may
not be taken or possessed at any time.
Soft-shell turtles, along with river cooters,
are the most frequently harvested of all Florida turtle species.
“We will be strictly enforcing our harvesting
regulations,” said Maj. Curtis Brown, with FWC law enforcement,
“and monitoring the harvest of these species.”
To report any violations of freshwater turtle
regulations or any other fish and wildlife law violations, call
the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922). For
guidelines on freshwater turtle restrictions, visit
MyFWC.com/codebook.
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