Loggerhead turtles like what they find off Delmarva coast

REHOBOTH BEACH — Currently, five tagged loggerheads have been identified in a hotspot for the species between the coastal waters off Long Beach, NJ and Kitty Hawk, NC: Buffett, Lemon Drop, Marie, Brianna and Pearl, with Marie and Brianna being closest to the Delaware Coast for most of the summer, and are there for the most basic of reasons it seems: abundant food.

Marie has favored waters most directly off the Delaware Coast, and a spot to the north of Baltimore Canyon and west of Wilmington Canyon in particular. She entered the area around July 9 according to her tracker, and hasn’t left.

Marie is a full adult at 3.5 feet long and weighing almost 300 lbs., which are about the same dimensions as the next closest tracked loggerhead, Brianna.

Brianna has spent her time crisscrossing coastal Maryland and Virginia waters, much closer to shore than Marie. She entered the area via Virginia Beach at the end of July, and has been up and down the coast several times since.

Both were tagged in Juno Beach, Fl., in April 2024 after laying eggs as part of a study of how often adult female loggerheads nest during a breeding season.

Loggerhead sea turtles have a generally low reproductive rate, with females like Marie and Brianna reaching maturity between 17-33 years of age, then laying an average of four clutches, and then taking a few years off. The study Marie and Brianna are a part of aims to understand this behavior more fully.

Dr. Aaron Carlisle, a marine ecologist with the University of Delaware, said the animals are looking to “feed or breed” and suspects it’s the latter.

“This area is a known foraging area for the species,” Dr. Carlisle said.

Dr. Carlisle explained the waters off the coast of Long Beach, NJ, where Buffett has set up shop on south to Kitty Hawk, NC, where Pearl has surfaced, is one of the largest and most productive feeding areas for this kind of turtle along the east coast.

The only more favorable spot on the east coast for the turtles was in Florida, near where they were tagged in the first place, Dr. Carlisle explained.

Loggerhead turtles’ diet can be variable depending on forage habitat and prey availability, Jason Davis, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control wildlife biologist said.

“It’s possible loggerheads are foraging on multiple species, but they also could be focusing on one or more highly abundant species,” he explained.

Mr. Davis said he referenced a study in preparing his response, which used an underwater drone “in roughly the same area off Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.”

The drone captured loggerheads feasting upon ocean bottom communities of Atlantic sea scallops, rock crabs and hermit crabs, while adding comb jellies, lion’s mane jellies and salps from the open ocean, he said.

Typically, he said, loggerheads prefer whelks, snails, clams and crabs while opportunistically feeding on fish or other marine species.

“Their diet can be variable depending on forage habitat and prey availability,” he said.

Staff writer Brian Gilliland can be reached at 410-603-3737 or bg@iniusa.org.