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The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (“AG&FC”) approved new regulations that are described as regulating and more closely monitoring the commercial harvest of aquatic turtles in Arkansas.
The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) states that the issuance of the regulations were in response to a petition they submitted on September 25, 2017, to the AG&FC.
The AG&FC describes the regulatory changes as including:
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To cap the sale of annual commercial turtle harvest-related permit holders to 150 per year for 2019-2021;
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Require submission of at least one report per harvester per year in order to renew a commercial harvester or dealer permit;
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Close the Gulf Coastal Plain to commercial aquatic turtle harvest;
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Close the St. Francis River in Greene and Clay counties to commercial aquatic turtle harvest;
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Prohibit the harvest of razorback musk turtles, and
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Clarify that anyone holding wild caught aquatic turtles for commercial transfer purposes must have an Aquatic Turtle Dealer Permit.
CBD also states that the AG&FC will conduct a three-year study from 2019-2021 to determine the effect of commercial trapping on wild turtle populations in the Delta region.
A copy of an AG&FC news release can be found here.
