Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 2, February 2024
Proposed Code Changes to Aquatic Turtle Harvest 15 November
2018
34.02
REQUIREMENTS
FOR ISSUING OF CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AQUATIC TURTLE PERMITS
The following conditions shall be met to qualify for and maintain
an Aquatic Turtle Farmer
Permit, Aquatic Turtle Dealer Permit, or Alligator Snapping
Turtle Breeder/Dealer Permit. An Aquatic Turtle Dealer Permit is required if
wild caught turtles are held in tanks, ponds, etc. for any length of time for
commercial purposes.
(A) A site plan
must be provided with the permit application, including legal and physical
descriptions of all facilities, and a sketch map showing the location and
approximate size of all ponds, impoundments, tanks, etc. used to hold or
propagate aquatic turtles.
(B) All
sites shall be inspected and approved by Commission personnel prior to issuance
of a permit.
(C) Holding ponds,
impoundments, tanks, etc. shall be fenced and maintained in such a manner as to
prevent the egress of captives and ingress of wild stock.
(D) Facilities shall be subject to random
inspection by Commission personnel.
(E) Permittees shall follow all transaction
and reporting requirements for harvest of wild-caught turtles in compliance
with Code 34.07.
PENALTY: Class 3
34.04
COMMERCIAL AQUATIC TURTLE
HARVEST CONDITIONS
(A) It is unlawful
to take or attempt to take aquatic turtle eggs from the wild.
(B) It is unlawful to take or attempt to take
aquatic turtles for commercial purposes by any means other than hoop nets or
box type (basking) turtle traps.
(C) It is unlawful to possess commercial
aquatic turde harvest gear in closed waters. Commercial aquatic turtle harvest
is allowed in the following counties, and/or bodies of water as specified:
1. Arkansas, Ashley, Chicot (Exception 1),
Clay (Exception 1), Craighead, Crittenden (Exception 1), Cross, Desha, Drew
(Exception 1), Greene (Exception 1), Independence (Exception 1), Jackson,
Jefferson, Lawrence (Exception 1), Lee, Lincoln, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe,
Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph (Exception 1), St. Francis,
White and Woodruff counties;
2.
Arkansas River, from its mouth to the Arkansas/ Oklahoma state line, excluding
waters within Lake Dardanelle from: north of the Union Pacific Railroad in
Franklin, Johnson, and Pope counties; Dardanelle Bay in Yell County; Delaware
Bay south of Arkansas Flighway 22, and south of signs posted on Shoal Bay, Cane
Creek Bay, and Six Mile Creek at O'Kane Island access in Logan
County.
3. Black River from its
mouth to the Missouri state line;
4. White River from its mouth to the mouth of
the Black River.
5. Arkansas waters
between the main levees of the Mississippi River.
(D) When a river or stream forms the boundary
between opened and closed areas, that boundary segment shall be closed to
tackle legal in the open area.
EXCEPTIONS:
(1) The following waters are closed to
commercial aquatic turtle harvest:
(a) Bayou
Meto Bayou in compliance with Code 38.01.
(b) All waters owned by: Arkansas Game and
Fish Commission, U.S. Forest Service, Arkansas State Parks, and Arkansas
Natural Heritage Commission.
(c)
Horseshoe Lake (Crittenden County);
(d) Lake Wallace (Drew and Chicot
counties);
(e) Upper and Lower Lake
Chicot (Connerly Bayou to Ditch Bayou Dam inclusive) (Chicot County).
(f) St. Francis River (Clay and Greene
counties)
(g) Eleven Point River
(Randolph County)
(h) Spring River
(Lawrence and Randolph counties)
(i) Strawberry River (Lawrence
County)
(j) White River above Dam 1
at Batesville (Independence County)
(k) Property-owner association and
municipally owned lakes, only with written approval.
(2) Private landowners, in closed counties,
can obtain from the Commission, a Private Land Commercial Aquatic Turtle
Permit. This permit allows the harvest of Common Snapping Turtles
{Chelydra serpentina), Redear Sliders
(Trachemys
scripta), and Spiny Softshells
{Apalone spinifera)
for commercial purposes on private property under the following
conditions:
(a) Only from manmade lakes and
ponds
(b) Only by a licensed
commercial aquatic turtle harvest or dealer permittee
(c) Only with legal commercial turtle harvest
gear as defined above
(d) All
harvested turtles shall be reported on aquatic turtle harvest report forms as
specified in
Code 34.07.
PENALTY: Class 2; Second offense shall
result in the revocation of the permit.
34.07 AQUATIC TURTLE TRANSACTION
AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
(A) It is unlawful
for aquatic turtle harvest, junior aquatic turtle harvest, and aquatic turtle
dealer permittees to fail to mail or deliver to the Commission on or before the
10th of each month a legibly completed and itemized aquatic turtle harvest form
provided by the Commission for all wild-caught aquatic turtles harvested during
the prior month. A copy of this form shall be retained by the permittee for a
period of 12 months and made available for inspection by any agent of the
Commission.
(B) Aquatic turtle
harvest, aquatic turtle dealer, non-resident turtle dealer, aquatic turtle
farmer, and alligator snapping turtle breeder/dealer permittees must comply
with the following:
(1) An invoice, bill of
sale or true bill of lading must accompany all turtle sales shipped or
transported in intrastate or interstate commerce to the final destination and
must contain the following information:
(a)
Name, address, and telephone number of buyer and seller;
(b) Permit number of seller, and,
(c) Number and species of turtles in
shipment.
(2) Permittees
may have turtles transported by their authorized representatives if accompanied
with a true bill of lading or bill of sale as described above.
(C) It is unlawful for alligator
snapping turtle breeder/dealer permittees to fail to mail or deliver to the
Commission by the 10th of each month a legibly completed, itemized transaction
record of all alligator snapping turtles purchased, sold, bartered, traded, or
transferred during the prior month transactions were made. This transaction
record shall include the names, addresses and phone numbers of all persons
involved in the sale, purchase, barter, trade or transfer of alligator snapping
turtles. Transaction records shall be recorded on a form provided by the
Commission.
(D) To be eligible to
renew commercial aquatic turtle harvester and dealer permits, all permittees
must submit a minimum of one harvest report form annually even if it shows zero
take for the year.
PENALTY: Class 2; Second offense shall result in the
revocation of the permit.
34.10
TAKE OF CHICKEN TURTLES AND RAZORBACK MUSK TURTLES PROHIBITED
It is unlawful to kill, take, or attempt to take chicken turtles
{Deirochelys reticularia) and razorback musk turtles
{Sternotherus carinatus), their eggs or other parts from the
wild. EXCEPTION:
Chicken turtles in legal possession as of Jan. 1, 2006 and their
progeny thereafter in compliance with Codes 34.02; 34.04. PENALTY: Class
2
34.11
IMPORTATION OF ALLIGATOR SNAPPING TURTLES, RAZORBACK MUSK TURTLES AND
CHICKEN TURTLES PROHIBITED
It is unlawful to import alligator snapping turtles, razorback
musk turtles, and chicken turtles into Arkansas.
PENALTY: Class 3
