82 turtles found dead in crab trap on Sea Isle Beach
Environmentalists Steve and Susan Ahern received a disturbing call Memorial Day from the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol.
It was 11:30 a.m. when the phone rang.
“Beach Patrol said someone walking along the beach down at 11th Street in Sea Isle had called them and said there were approximately 70 dead diamondback terrapins and also a crab trap next to them,” Steve Ahern explained Wednesday.
The Aherns contacted The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor immediately, then went down to the beach to see for themselves.
The death toll was worse than they were originally told. There were 82 dead terrapins and an abandoned commercial trap that measured about four feet. It was devastating news for the Aherns, who have dedicated their retirement years to making sure turtles have proper nesting places and safe routes around the city.
“Other than being killed on the roads, this is the other prime way that terrapins are killed,” Steve Ahern said.
They wondered who did it. They knew it would be impossible to know for sure. The Wetlands Institute contacted the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife and the agency is doing an investigation, Ahern said.
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Photo from Steve Ahern.
