Loggerhead turtles Marie, Buffett recently pinged off coast near Delaware

Marie, a 294-pound loggerhead sea turtle, has pinged off the coast of Delaware, according to the nonprofit Ocearch.

She traveled up the East Coast from Palm Beach, Florida, and has been in the Atlantic Ocean off of Delaware for at least a week.

Marie is one of 400 sea turtles and sharks tagged and tracked by Ocearch. The nonprofit tags these animals to follow their movement and provide open-source data in the hopes of assisting researchers, educators and policy-makers to return the ocean to "balance and abundance."

Why track loggerhead turtles?

Loggerhead turtles are considered an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. They are threatened by unintended capture by fishing gear, loss and degradation of nesting beach habitats, vessel strikes, pollution and climate change, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Marie was tagged by Ocearch researchers at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in late April after she laid a nest on Juno Beach in Florida. The researchers there are investigating the number of nests a single female loggerhead turtle lays within one breeding season.

Who are Marie and Buffett?

Marie was already an adult when she was tagged and measures almost 3½ feet long. She is not the only loggerhead to pass by Delaware, either. Buffett, a 250-pound female loggerhead that Ocearch has been tracking for over a year, swam past Marie's current location in June.

The turtle, named for the late singer, last pinged off the coast near Atlantic City. Researchers are studying Buffett's nesting habits and the possible effect of lineage on them. She has regularly nested on Ossabaw Island off the Georgia coast.

To learn more about Ocearch's research and view the live loggerhead turtle tracker, visit ocearch.org/tracker.

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on X at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Loggerhead turtles Marie, Buffett recently pinged off coast near Delaware