CHAPTER 31 

 Marine Turtles and Terrapins 



Introduction 



Soups and broths prepared from turtles and terrapins have been highly prized 

 by epicures from earliest historical times. During the colonization of the United 

 States turtles were found highly valuable on long voyages or when a shortage of 

 food occurred. Captain John Smith stated that, "twenty tortoises have been taken 

 in a day, and some of them will aflFord half a bushel of eggs, and suffice to feed 

 forty men at a meale." It has been reported that in colonial times some specimens 

 caught in the West Indies weighed as much as 850 pounds. Fishing was so intense 

 in this area that it was necessary to limit the locations in which the turtles could 

 be caught and the size of those which could be taken. In Bermuda in about 1620 

 the taking of turtles within 5 leagues of the island and "under 18 inches in breadth 

 or diameter" was prohibited. The penalty for violation of this law was a fine of 

 15 pounds of tobacco. 



At present considerable quantities of turtles are imported into the United States. 

 Although the greater portion of them are used in the preparation of soup, a few 

 steaks are sold to those who prefer the meat. The latest statistical reports indicate 

 that in 1945 827 cases of 48 standard 15-ounce cans of terrapin and tiirtle meat, 

 valued at $27,014, were canned. In the same year 9,226 cases of the same size 

 and number of cans of soup, valued at $116,589, were prepared. However, only 

 6 plants were in operation. 



Location and Importance of Industry 



The 3 most important species of true marine turtles are the green turtle, the 

 hawksbill turtle, and the loggerhead turtle. Although the luth or leathery turtle, 

 found on the coasts of Florida and Brazil, is also a true marine turtle, it is of 

 minor commercial importance. The diamondback terrapin, which is such a val- 

 uable commercial article, is not a marine turtle in the strictest sense of the word, 

 but a water tortoise; it closely resembles land tortoises although it lives chiefly in 

 saline river estuaries and salt marshes. 



Of the 3 important species of marine tmtles the green turtle is the most edible. 

 Its flesh is prized, especially for the making of turtle soup, by the large hotels and 

 canneries of North America and as a source of meat supply to the inhabitants of 

 the West Indies and Central America. The hawksbill turtle is the source of the 

 tortoise shell of commerce, and is used only to a limited extent for soup and steaks. 



Marine turtles inhabit the tropical and semi-tropical seas at all seasons, and in 

 summer a few are found in temperate seas as far north as New England. In the 

 United States marine turtles are found chiefly in the Gulf of Mexico. The statistics 

 in Table 146 (p. 657), concerning the catch of turtles and terrapins in the 



655 



