By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

Fisher, a loggerhead turtle from Newport Aquarium, gets a look at the Atlantic Ocean - and freedom - before his release. Provided photo

NEWPORT - You'd think the freedom of the vast Atlantic Ocean might intimidate a turtle that has been in an aquarium for nine years.

For Fisher, 10 minutes was enough to adjust.

The male loggerhead sea turtle from the Newport Aquarium was set free July 12 off the North Carolina coast. He had been in captivity at Fort Fisher, N.C., and Newport since his birth in 1995.

And boy, was he ready to go.

Perhaps Fisher wouldn't qualify for the Olympics, but in turtle time, his is a record-breaking pace: up to about 9 kilometers per hour (about 5 mph).

"We didn't think they could travel any faster than 5 kilometers per hour," said Michael Coyne, a marine biologist in North Carolina who has been tracking Fisher.

Based on satellite transmissions tracking his progress, Fisher has made the most of his independence, traveling nearly 900 miles in the past month at record speeds.

No one was sure how he'd react when he was first released.

"He circled the boat a couple times and looked at us, as if he wasn't sure what to do," said Pam Lyons, Newport Aquarium husbandry director who helped lower Fisher off a boat into the ocean. "Then he took a deep breath, took a deep dive and took off."

A few days before Fisher's release, a satellite transmitter was glued to the 3-foot shell of the 150-pound reptile so biologists and the public could track his progress online.

Through Thursday, there were 2,127 visits from around the world on Fisher's Web site, www.seaturtle.org.

Biologists following him have been stunned at how far Fisher has traveled.

"He got caught in the Gulf Stream when he left, so his speeds were hitting 8 to 9 kilometers per hour consistently," said Coyne, who started the Web site in 1997.

Today, Fisher is meandering about 650 miles east of the Virginia coast. Lyons and Coyne are anxious to see what his next move will be.

"The neat thing about this project is that we've never tagged a male, it's always been a female," said Lyons.

"So we're not expecting any particular results. We're just observing and learning from what he does."

They're also watching how he handles the storms that are about to hit Florida. Forecasters predict Hurricane Charley and Tropical Storm Bonnie will eventually make their way up the East Coast.

"Turtles seem to know what to do in the event of a hurricane," Lyons said. "They basically seek shelter at the bottom of the ocean and only come up to breathe (about every 30 minutes), staying away from the turbulence on the surface."

Coyne tracked four turtles during Hurricane Isabel last year.

He said he lost track of the turtles for a couple of days during that storm, probably because the turtles were on the ocean floor or the choppy water affected the transmitters' antenna. But after the hurricane, all the transmitters worked again.

Fisher is the fifth turtle equipped with a transmitter by the aquarium in the last year. Depending on the sophistication of the transmitters, they last about a year and cost anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 each.

Lyons said it's a worthy investment. The loggerhead has been listed as a threatened species since 1978.

"Turtles are elusive," said Lyons. "Except for the nesting females who come to shore and lay eggs, they're out in the open and it's hard to follow them."

Coyne said the transmitters tell them what migratory corridors the turtles use. That can give biologists an idea of what the turtles are eating.

And with Fisher, they can compare his behavior with that of the females they've tagged to see if there are any differences.

Lyons said another purpose for the transmitter is to ensure her and others at the aquarium that they made the right decisions in caring for Fisher and letting him go when they did.

If he lives out his life expectancy, Fisher will enjoy the wild for another 30 to 50 years.

"The longer the (transmitter) lasts," said Coyne, "the more interesting this story will be."

To track Fisher's progress, visit www.seaturtle.org

E-mail williamcroyle@yahoo.com