Media Resources : Freshwater Turtle Harvest Information : Harvest Regulations Summary

Turtle harvest regulations summary

• Licenses and permits are not required for taking turtles.
• Most freshwater turtles may be taken year-round manually or with baited hooks, bows, dip nets, traps (designed so freshwater fish caught can escape) or by spearing (from boats or shore only during daylight hours).
• Taking turtles with bucket traps, snares or shooting with firearms is prohibited.
• Using gasoline or other chemical or gaseous substances to drive wildlife from their retreats is prohibited.
• River cooters may not be taken from April 15 to July 31. Soft-shell turtles or their eggs may not be taken from the wild from May 1 to July 31.
• No one can possess more than 50 eggs taken from the wild, in the aggregate, of species of freshwater turtles native to Florida, except as authorized by permit from the FWC executive director.
• Purchasing or selling turtle eggs taken from the wild is prohibited.
• Eggs of the following restricted turtle species are subject to the same possession limits that apply for those turtles.
• Possession limits for turtles and eggs:
  • River cooters - two
  • Alligator snapping turtles - one
  • Loggerhead musk turtles - two
  • Box turtles - two
  • Barbour’s map turtles - two
  • Escambia River map turtles - two
  • Diamondback terrapins - two
• No one may buy, sell or possess for sale alligator snapping turtles, box turtles, Barbour’s map turtles, river cooters, loggerhead musk turtles, Escambia River map turtles, diamondback terrapins or parts thereof.
• Buying, selling, taking or possessing gopher tortoises, or parts thereof, is prohibited except by permit from the FWC executive director.
• For additional information, please visit Rule 68A-25.002(6) of the Florida Administrative Code at https://www.flrules.org/.  You may also read other wildlife regulations by going to MyFWC.com/codebook/.
• Red-eared sliders in personal possession prior to July 1, 2007 may continue in the possession of the owner.
• Red-eared sliders less than 4 inches carapace length may not be possessed after July 1, 2008 without a permit.
• Red-eared sliders with distinctive aberrant color patterns, including albino or amelanistic specimens, may be possessed without a permit.

Nonnative species that are released into the wild are often undesirable because of their potential to transmit diseases, compete or interbreed with Florida's native wildlife. To minimize these problems, Florida Statute 379.231 prohibits the release of nonnative animals. Therefore, relocating nonnative animals into a wild situation is not an appropriate solution to disposing of unwanted pets.

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