Diamondbacks (Malaclemys terrapin) are something of a revered species in Maryland, designated not only as the state reptile but the mascot of the University of Maryland, College Park. A long lived species, the diamondback terrapin can reach ages in excess of 20 years. Their diet includes mollusks, insects, crustaceans, and small fish. Chesapeake colonists ate terrapin prepared Native-American fashion, roasted whole in live coals. Abundant and easy to catch, terrapin were so ample that landowners often fed their slaves and indentured servants a staple diet of terrapin meat. Later, in the 19th century, the turtle was appreciated as gourmet food, especially in a stew laced with cream and sherry. The turtles were among the most prized seafood catch of the Chesapeake Bay; they were regarded as so valuable that a 1797 state statute restricted the use of terrapin as a food for slaves. But the diamondback terrapin has been in decline, the commercial harvest closed by the state in 2007. No one quite knows how many terrapins remain in the Chesapeake and the coastal bays around Ocean City. But the losses have been high enough for the state to classify them as a species of "greatest conservation need."
Sources:
The Baltimore Sun, August 17, 2016
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-terrapin-20160…
Maryland government
http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/symbols/html/reptile.html
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