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Download back issues of Turtle Survival, the TSA's annual publication, below. Members receive the full-color magazine each year, as a benefit of their membership in the TSA. To purchase print copies of back issues, visit our STORE!
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About Turtle Survival Alliance
The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) was formed in 2001 as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) partnership for sustainable captive management of freshwater turtles and tortoises, and initially designated a Task Force of the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. The TSA arose in response to the rampant and unsustainable harvest of Asian turtle populations to supply Chinese markets, a situation known as the Asian Turtle Crisis.
Since forming, the TSA has become recognized as a global force for turtle conservation, capable of taking swift and decisive action on behalf of critically endangered turtles and tortoises. Although the TSA was organized in response to the Asian Turtle Crisis, the group has been expanded as our understanding of the scope of turtle and tortoise declines has become better understood. The TSA has been particularly involved in recovery efforts where a managed breeding component is part of an overall survival strategy. The TSA employs a comprehensive strategy for evaluating the most critically endangered chelonians that identifies whether a species is prioritized for a captive program or through range country efforts, or a combination of both.
In the past 13 years, TSA secured nonprofit 501(c)(3) status (2005) and has centralized its base operations in South Carolina by opening the Turtle Survival Center (2013). The Turtle Survival Center, which now has AZA certification (2018), is home to a collection of more than 700 turtles and tortoises, representing 30 of the world’s critically endangered species. The TSA has also grown internationally, with significant field projects or programs in Madagascar, Myanmar and India, and additional projects in Belize, Colombia, and throughout Asia.
Today, the TSA is an action-oriented global partnership, focusing on species that are at high risk of extinction, and working in turtle diversity hotspots around the world. Widely recognized as a global catalyst for turtle conservation based on its reputation for swift and decisive action, the TSA has made a bold commitment to zero turtle extinctions in the 21st Century. The TSA is a recognized force for turtle conservation globally. TSA’s conservation actions utilize a three-pronged approach:
1. Restoring populations in the wild where possible;
2. Securing species in captivity through assurance colonies; and
3. Building the capacity to restore, secure and conserve species within their range country.
Lifesavers!
BRDs
Bycatch Reduction Devices
Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin)
live in brackish saltwater marshes, coastal bays
and lagoons
from Cape
Cod, MA, to
Corpus Christi,
TX. They are
named from
the concentric
markings and
grooves on
their shells.
Today, because of habitat loss, boat strikes,
and other human-induced stresses, terrapin
populations within the Chesapeake Bay are
under even greater pressure to survive.
The greatest threat to diamondback terrapins
is drowning in crab pots. Male and young
female
terrapins
enter and
drown in
commercial-
style crab
pots, as they
are air-
breathing
animals.
Terrapins are
attracted to the same bait used to attract blue
crabs. Terrapins may also enter out of
curiosity or because they are looking for a
safe resting place.
Recreational crab pots are typically set in the
same places males and juvenile female
terrapins live - shallow, near-shore waters
along creeks and marshes.
The blue crab
fishery,
Callinectes
sapidus, is one of
the largest on-
going commercial
shellfish harvests
in the Chesapeake
Bay, and crabbing is a favorite pastime for many
Virginia residents as well.
In Virginia, it is illegal to collect
diamondback terrapins for commercial or
personal use
(see Virginia Department of Game and Inland
Fisheries Nongame regulations at
A bycatch reduction device (BRD) is a simple
and low-cost way to prevent terrapins and other
marine organisms, such as blue catfish which eat
blue crabs, from getting into your crab pots.
Attaching a BRD to each funnel opening will
prevent most terrapins and other unwanted
organisms from entering the pot.
Studies have shown that while effective at
preventing other animals from entering,
BRDs have little impact on the size and
number of blue crabs found in crab pots.
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/
regulations/nongame.asp).
Rochelle Seitz
Diane Tulipani
Diane Tulipani
Timothy Russell
Matthew Wolak
Timothy Russell
Please help prevent unnecessary deaths of
diamondback terrapins and other animals in
your crab pots. By simply attaching BRDs
to your crab pots, you can help preserve the
diversity of animals within Chesapeake Bay
for a healthier system, while still enjoying
your blue crab catch.
To learn more about diamondback
terrapins and their conservation visit the
following websites:
VIMS Website
Virginia Department of Game and Inland
Fisheries
Diamondback Terrapin Working Group
The Wetlands Institute
MATES Project Terrapin
www.vims.edu/terrapin
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/
information/?s=030067
http://www.vafwis.org/fwis/booklet.html?
Menu=_.Life+History&bova=030067
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/
regulations/nongame.asp
www.dtwg. org
www.terrapinconservation.org
www.projectterrapin.org
Help prevent unnecessary deaths of
diamondback terrapins and other animals
in your crab pots. Simply attach BRDs to
all of your crab pots. Your participation
can help preserve the diversity of animals
within Chesapeake Bay for a healthier
system, while still enjoying your blue crab
catch.
To make your own set of 4 BRDs (1 ¾” x
4 ¾”), you will need for each crab pot:
Ÿ 11-gauge galvanized wire - 4 pieces x
14 ¾” length
Ÿ 24 hog rings [(2 to form each BRD + 4
to attach BRD to pot) x4]
Ÿ Marker
Ÿ Needle nose pliers
Ÿ Wire cutters (optional)
1. Take a single length of wire and,
measuring from one end, make a mark
with the marker at lengths 1 ¾”, 6 ½”, 8
¼”, and 13” from the end.
2. Using the pliers, bend the wire to a 90°
angle upward at each mark. The first
and last lengths of 1 ¾” will overlap
forming a rectangle of 1¾” x 4 ¾”.
3. Securely close the overlapping side with
2 hog rings.
4. Repeat for remaining 3 lengths of wire.
To install on the crab pot, position a BRD
within each funnel opening and securely
fasten to funnel with 4 cable ties per BRD;
place 1 cable tie at each corner of the BRD.
Illustrations:
(c) 2009
Kelly Finan /
National Aquarium
Plastic BRDs are available for
purchase. For more information, go to:
www.vims.edu/terrapin
Diane Tulipani