Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 17:26:34 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Marty Cribb Subject: Re: Brown Pelicans and a Sea Turtle MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mike and All, The type of fish trap you observed is a pound net. In this area of Southern Maryland, Tidal Potomac and northern Neck of Virginia the most common way of harvesting bait fish for the crabbing industry as well as table fare. The traps are usually chequed daily except in inclement weather and are the most conservation minded of all the commercial fishing ventures as there is virtually no by-catch and what by-catch there is can be released unharmed. The two waterman I know in the immediate area of where you were are very aware of the problems associated with there nets and make a strong effort to minimize any environmental problems. The turtle you saw was more than likely a Loggerhead turtle which is locally common during warm weather months. Unfortunately a good number of dead turtles are also seen in the area every summer and the majority of these dead turtles are the result of purse seines and gill nets made of monofilament still allowed in nearby Virginia and North Carolina waters. Good Birding to all, Marty Cribb, St Marys Co, Point Lookout, Md ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Callahan" To: Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2001 1:22 PM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Brown Pelicans and a Sea Turtle > Hi MDOSPREYERS< > > We observed about eight Brown Pelicans a few of which were immatures just > off of St. George Island on the St Mary's River in St. Mary's County on > Friday July 13 while on the skip jack The Dee of St. Mary's. The > pelicans were hanging around fish net trap enclosures. Inside the fish > trap/weir was a very large Sea Turtle which must have weighed near 300 > lbs. The group of 30 day campers enjoyed seeing the pelicans and were > even more excited about the turtle. The turtle must have been there a > little while since the captain told us there may be a sea turtle in the > enclosure. It was the first sea turtle I had ever observed in the wild. > > If anyone from DNR knows how often this type of trap is emptied and if > someone can be sent to check out and help get the turtle released pleas > let me know. I am afraid it will starve in the net if it is left there > too long. > > Naturally, > Mike Callahan > Laurel > Howard County, MD > raptorsrule @juno.com > > ======================================================================= > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================