Turtles making a return?

Abstract

The recent nesting of a loggerhead turtle at Ramla tal-Mixquqa (Golden Bay) has, predictably, stirred much local interest in view of the charismatic nature of these iconic nomads of the sea.

Way back in 1960, the same beach was a far cry from the light-polluted, cacophonic and congested place it is today. That was the year when one of the last successful loggerhead turtle nestings on a local beach was observed.

Unfortunately conservation ethics in those days are not what they are today, and the hapless loggerhead in question was consumed, along with its eggs, by those observing its ordeal. Up to 25 or 30 years ago marine turtle flesh could easily be purchased in markets for use in soups.

Loggerhead turtles reach maturity between the ages of 10 and 30. Different turtle species may lay between 25 and 200 eggs on a single beach and they take about two months to hatch. The heat of the sun incubates the eggs and determines the sex ratio of the offspring – if temperatures rise above 29.9°C the embryos become female; lower temperatures result in male hatchlings. The eggs usually hatch at night.