Always had a soft spot for turtles... I'd shoot a dolphin before killing a turtle...
Always had a soft spot for turtles... I'd shoot a dolphin before killing a turtle...
That's pretty funny stuff to be posting on a hunting and fishing web site.Quote:
Originally Posted by rfb
The part of Ontario I'm familiar with has no shortage of snapping turtles - so there's no reason not to hunt them there.
A stringer of fish isn't safe anchored at the dock even during daylight hours.
200 turtles divided by 2 per year is 100 years. You're also forgetting that they do reproduce - even slowly.Quote:
Originally Posted by rfb
I'm not sure what the study is - you didn't provide a link to it, but that seems a bit strange.
As far as sport and turtles not being hard to kill - that is *never* a consideration in setting seasons and limits.
As far as your later post about "character assassination" - well if you post peta-like opinions, you can expect the
obvious comparison to be made.
Just because i like hunting and fishing doesnt mean that i don't think there are limits to species we should be allowed to harvest.Quote:
Originally Posted by werner.reiche
If you want to ignore the science so be it. Turtles can't withstand loses to the adult population.
And just because something is locally abundant doesnt mean much in the big picture.
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"ignoring science" seems to be the buzzword to label anyone who disagrees with you.Quote:
Originally Posted by rfb
The study I read says nest destruction is the biggest problem for turtles.
Nest destruction is a normal part of their life cycle. That they can withstand. What they arent adapted for is significant loss of breeding adults. They arent designed for that.
All you have to do us look at the picture worldwide for chelonians. Its not pretty. In Ontario all species are listed at minimum as special concern.
Im all for hunting sustainable species. This Is not one of them.
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... "that's not what "science" says"Quote:
Originally Posted by rfb
From the "Species at Risk Public Registry" for Canada. Given all that do you really think we should still be harvesting. And please don't pick out the Otter predation and hold that up above all else. You can't separate one from another as far as causes go. PS, you are right about nest predation being an issue now with an increased number of skunks and racoons.Quote:
Originally Posted by werner.reiche
I'm all for hunting and fishing, just not for every species.
Most of the serious threats to Snapping Turtles in Canada are events that increase adult mortality. Legal and illegal harvesting of adults, persecution and road mortality are the most prominent causes of premature death in adult Snapping Turtles. Legal and illegal harvesting is an ongoing source of mortality for the Snapping Turtle. Although Ontario has tightened its hunting restrictions, the daily bag limit of two Snapping Turtles still seems to be too high for a single population. Commercial harvest of Snapping Turtles has been banned in Nova Scotia since September 2008, but personal harvest continues. There is no commercial harvest in Quebec or Ontario. A new, rapidly increasing and far more serious threat is the illegal wildlife trade. There is a highly organized trade in turtles for food, medicine, pets and trinkets. Systematic trapping of all turtle species, including Snapping Turtles, is increasing to meet overseas demand, particularly from China. Snapping Turtles are targeted for persecution because of their reputation for aggression, their large size and fearsome features, and their reputation as voracious predators of waterfowl and sport fish. Vandals also target Snapping Turtles for violent purposes. Snapping Turtles are most vulnerable to mortality from vehicular collisions during the reproductive season because females cross roads frequently in search of suitable nesting sites, but also because soft gravel road shoulders make attractive nesting sites. Another threat to roadside nests is routine road maintenance, such as gravelling and grading, which often destroy or seriously damage nests by exposing or crushing the eggs. Other long-term threats to the persistence of the Snapping turtle in Canada include ongoing loss of habitat and decreased reproductive success due to environmental contamination. Reduced hatching success and increased deformity rates in Snapping Turtles have been reported in a number of Ontario studies. Another major threat is unnaturally high rates of nest predation by large populations of Raccoons and other mammals. In Algonquin Provincial Park, for example, a large part of the decline observed in the adult Snapping Turtle population since the late 1980s was caused by predation by Otters, but an undetermined portion was derived from mortality from vehicles and perhaps from poaching. Other factors threatening the survival of the species include boat propeller strikes, “bycatch” from both sport and commercial fishing, dredging, road grading, water drawdowns and other practices.
Thy must have missed southern Ontario farm country in there study. We have way to many big turtles around here. Every creek and irrigation pond is full of them.
Lets not get the environment Canada species at risk "junk" confused with "science". That's just plain silly.Quote:
Originally Posted by rfb
But if I did take one thing from their document it's
"Reliable population size estimates of Snapping Turtles are extremely difficult to obtain, even with 30+ years of census data. "
In plain English - "we don't know what we are talking about".