All,

Check out this excerpt from statements made by turtle biologist Matt Aresco. This is an example of academics pushing the turtle agenda in Florida:

''Turtles are not fish. The commission doesn't seem to recognize that,'' turtle biologist Matt Aresco said. ``We know turtles cannot be sustainably harvested. Softshells take 10 years to reach maturity. They have totally different life histories and should not be lumped into a commercial fishing license.''

“We know turtles cannot be sustainably harvested,” period, end of story? All species, all age classes? I didn’t know that to be an indisputable fact. Turtles have been harvested by American Indians for thousands of years and by Europeans for 400 years. But they can’t be sustainably harvested at all? None, zero, zip?

No, they are not fish but there is a sustainable harvest amount. Determine what it is with DATA and then make some management regs with bag limits. Another prime example of the banning “agenda” of academics in action.

Welkerii
El Paso, TX

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