Modeling Commercial Freshwater Turtle Production on US Farms for Pet and Meat Markets.

Ivana Mali,Hsiao-Hsuan Wang,William E Grant,Michael R J Forstner,Mark Feldman

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0139053

Abstract

Freshwater turtles are being exploited for meat, eggs, traditional medicine, and pet trade. As a response, turtle farming became a booming aquaculture industry in the past two decades, specifically in the southeastern states of the United States of America (US) and across Southeast Asia. However, US turtle farms are currently producing turtles only for the pet trade while commercial trappers remain focused on catching the largest individuals from the wild. In our analyses we have created a biological and economic model that describes farming operations on a representative turtle farm in Louisiana. We first modeled current production of hatchling and yearling red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) (i.e., traditional farming) for foreign and domestic pet markets, respectively. We tested the possibility of harvesting adult turtles from the breeding stock for sale to meat markets to enable alternative markets for the farmers, while decreasing the continued pressures on wild populations (i.e., non-traditional farming). Our economic model required current profit requirements of ~$13/turtle or ~$20.31/kg of meat from non-traditional farming in order to acquire the same profit as traditional farming, a value which currently exceeds market values of red-eared sliders. However, increasing competition with Asian turtle farms and decreasing hatchling prices may force the shift in the US toward producing turtles for meat markets. In addition, our model can be modified and applied to more desirable species on the meat market once more knowledge is acquired about species life histories and space requirements under farmed conditions.

Highlights

Unrestricted commercial harvest of wildlife can lead to species declines and extinction [1, 2], [3]
The purpose of this study was threefold: 1) to use information and knowledge currently available for freshwater turtle biology under farmed conditions and develop a biological model that describes the dynamics of traditional hatchling and yearling production on a representative farm in Louisiana, 2) to modify this model and test the possibility of harvesting adult turtles from the stock for foreign meat markets in addition to raising and harvesting hatchling and yearling turtles, 3) to develop economic model describing the current and future alternative profits to project the future of turtle farms, and 4) to present Porter five forces analysis [25] to aid in our understanding of general strengths and weaknesses of turtle farming industry
Turtle farming became a common practice on Asian farms and a booming aquaculture business in the southern United States of America (US) [16, 19]

Summary

Introduction

Unrestricted commercial harvest of wildlife can lead to species declines and extinction [1, 2], [3]. Harvest levels of wild populations are often reported as excessive and unsustainable [8,9,10]. China in particular, is leading the world. Freshwater Turtle Farming in turtle consumption as food [11,12,13]. High demands for freshwater turtle meat has put significant pressure on wild populations in Asia and in other regions of the world [8], [14], [15]. Turtle captive breeding has expanded in the last two decades in China and other Southeast Asian countries to meet this demand [16,17,18], and freshwater turtle farming became a booming aquaculture business in the southeastern United States of America (US) in the early 1990s (US) [19]

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion