Here's another announcement of interest that I saw in the HerpDigest Volume # 8 Issue #21, Wednesday, April 16, 2008

4/14/2008 The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has announced closed seasons for harvest of river cooters and their eggs from April 15 to July 31 and soft-shell turtles and their eggs from May 1 to July 31. During other times of the year, the river cooter is a protected species, with a daily bag limit of two turtles and two eggs. Other protected species and their eggs in Florida include alligator snapping turtles, limit one turtle and one egg; loggerhead musk turtles, box turtles, Barbours map turtles, Escambia River map turtles and diamondback terrapins, all with a limit of two turtles and two eggs throughout the year. The Suwannee cooter, a subspecies of the river cooter, may not be taken or possessed at any time. Soft-shell turtles, along with river cooters, are the most frequently harvested of all Florida turtle species. We will be strictly enforcing our harvesting regulations, said Capt. Curtis Brown, with FWC law enforcement, and monitoring the harvest of these species. To report any violations of freshwater turtle regulations or any other fish and wildlife law violations, call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922). For guidelines on freshwater turtle restrictions, visit MyFWC.com/codebook .