Josette Bianco could not believe her eyes when she spotted a turtle that crawled up from the sea to lay eggs on the beach at Ġnejna Bay.

She was having a relaxed evening out with her family on Wednesday night when the turtle started digging into the sand some two metres from the water’s edge.

“We were surprised, we did not know what it was at first,” Mrs Bianco said, amazed at the scene that unfolded before her eyes.

It was the first time in more than 50 years that a turtle had nested on a Maltese beach – and it laid 79 eggs.

Mrs Bianco said the turtle then covered the eggs and returned to the sea. “It all lasted an hour and the turtle was very calm despite the flash photography. It was simply amazing,” she said.

The eggs are now under 24-hour surveillance and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority yesterday urged people not to take pets to the beach and play loud music. Turtles are protected by law and the area is cordoned off.

Planning authority personnel, who had specialised training in turtle management, yesterday carefully shifted the eggs further away from the waterline for greater safety.

Vince Attard, the president of Nature Trust, an environmental group, described the phenomenon as “a wonderful experience” and “a very big event”.

“Turtles normally lay more than 79 eggs and so I do not exclude it returning to lay more eggs,” he said.

Mr Attard said the turtle went against all odds when it laid its eggs because turtles normally do so in pitch darkness and in secluded beaches. “The turtle crawled onto a floodlit part of the beach and at a time when there were a lot of people.”

People on the beach were overjoyed with the experience and an eyewitness said they burst out clapping when the turtle returned to the sea.

Mr Attard, who was summoned to the beach, said the way people behaved was overwhelming. “They controlled themselves and the kiosk-owner on the beach was very proud the turtle had laid its eggs over there”.

Ġnejna and Golden Bay were popular nesting sites for turtles in the past. Mr Attard said the last recorded nesting was in 1960 in Golden Bay. In that case the female was killed and the eggs were stolen.

The eggs will take between six and eight weeks to hatch. Turtles live many years and some species mature at the age of 35. They lay their eggs on the same beach on which they were born.

Why were the eggs relocated?

An expert told The Times that the eggs had to be relocated because they were too close to the sea and risked being washed away if the sea became rough.

Furthermore, since there was clay under the sand, there was a risk that the site would overheat, reducing the possibility of successful hatching. The site was also in a heavily used part of the bay.

The eggs were transferred to a new location according to a process that preserved the same positions in which the eggs were laid so as to retain the same conditions.

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