Tammie, a 252-pound loggerhead turtle, rescued off Lewes coast

Tammie, a 252-pound loggerhead turtle, is in rehab after her rescue Monday.

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter Lawrence Lawson, based out of Cape May, spotted the turtle on June 12 about three miles east of Cape Henlopen. Officials monitored the creature for about an hour, noting that she had unusual growths and could not dive, according to a Coast Guard press release.

"The Coast Guard reported it directly to us, because it was in Delaware waters," said Suzanne Thurman, executive director of the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute in Lewes. "We sent a couple of our responders out to assist and oversee, and I gave instructions over the phone so that they could pick it up where they were. If the boat travels away from the turtle in the water, it becomes like a needle in a haystack."

A loggerhead in Delaware waters isn't cause for alarm, Thurman said. The sea-going creatures are bottom-feeders who eat crabs and other sea floor dwellers. The water temperatures and the local menu often draw them into the Delaware Bay this time of year, and the conditions are attractive for them usually through November, Thurman said.

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This one, however, was having problems. Responders could see that the shell was covered with what Thurman calls "biota," live creatures like barnacles that had encrusted themselves to the shell. For so many of them to have become attached, the turtle had to have been moving slowly for a long time. She described the appearance as "one of the heaviest loads I have ever seen."

And that is a symptom of a real problem, Thurman said.

"It definitely had buoyancy issues, which is usually attributed to infection, often gaseous deposits in the tissues, inflating it like a balloon so it can't dive," Thurman said.

No diving, no food, and that means all kinds of other problems, Thurman said.

"We're very fortunate that the Coast Guard saw it," Thurman said. "They did an amazing job, we were able to talk about how to safely get the turtle out of the water without causing inadvertent injury."

Due to the species' weight, a rescue requires two boats. Crewmembers were able to maneuver the boats and a cargo net to retrieve the turtle and pull it onboard.

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"Once out of the buoyant salt water, the turtle's own weight starts to compress the internal organs, so we want to support the turtle on something soft so that its lungs and other organs can still work," Thurman said. "We were initially going to bring it into Lewes to Inlet Coast Guard Station which is right next to us."

The MERR facility can only handle short-term recovery, but they found that Sea Turtle Recovery in West Orange, New Jersey had the capability to do a long-term course of rehabilitiation.

Thurman said they were going to take the animal on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry to hand her off to Sea Turtle Recovery, but the Lawrence Lawson is based in Cape May and the Coast Guard offered to transport the animal to the hand off.

"The rescue was successful. The Coast Guard was an amazing help, they just are professionals on the water, they have the expertise to do something this involved and take the turtle back to the New Jersey side," Thurman said.

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Naming the animal "Tammie," Sea Turtle Recovery took custody to assess its condition and begin care and rehab.

Thurman said that the treatment duration at this point can't be estimated because a complete assessment hasn't been completed yet. Sea Turtle Recovery has Tammie on fluids and a regimen of antibiotics, and will take x-rays soon to look for internal problems. During rehab, the encrusted creatures will be allowed to drop off naturally, because attempting to remove them by force could damage the turtle's shell.

News of Tammie's progress may be available next week, Thurman said.