Shell-ebration as 100 Loggerhead turtles hatch at Ġnejna Bay

There was hushed joy and excitement at Ġnejna Bay late on Wednesday evening as 100 loggerhead turtles hatched from their eggs and waddled down towards the sea.

A loggerhead turtle had laid her eggs in the sand at Ġnejna on 25 June, prompting Nature Trust Malta and the Environment and Resources Authority to set up a constant watch over the area and implement measures to avoid disturbance to the nest buried deep beneath the sand.

The hatching process started at around 9.15pm, when a total of 98 tiny turtles emerged from the sand and went immediately in search of the sea. Another two turtles hatched later during the night.

The entire event was captured on infra-red cameras.

There were sighs of relief all round, as the hatching came a few hours after a heavy downpour. Indeed, there were fears that recent rainstorms could have damaged the nest. Special measures were taken by the volunteers who watched over the site for the entire two-month incubation period, including through the use of sandbags to channel rainwater.

Another fright came when a security guard drove his car over the sand near the nest, but the eggs, thankfully, were unharmed, even in that episode.

In a statement, the Environment and Resources Authority said the eggs had hatched after a successful period of incubation and despite the wet weather, which threatened the viability of the nest.

Nature Trust – FEE Malta (NTM) and volunteers who were present immediately informed the Environment and Resources Authority of the event taking place and took action on the ground to see the hatchlings safely to the water’s edge.

Hatchlings are naturally attracted to moonlight shining on the sea’s surface and their first response, upon emerging from the eggs, is to swim towards light. In view of this, the Environment and Resources Authority kickstarted its planned response to reduce disturbance from artificial light or any physical barriers at the bay so as to ensure that the hatchlings’ first journey is a successful one.

All marine turtles are considered endangered, so they are protected worldwide. The loggerhead is the most common of marine turtles in the Mediterranean, closely followed by the leatherback and the green turtle, the latter being more common in the open sea towards America.