Will the Ġnejna turtle eggs manage to hatch?
As their due date has come and gone, everyone is asking...
Kristina Chetcuti
From fisherman to hoteliers, boat owners to mobile phone owners: everyone is on the alert to switch off their lights and engines should Malta’s 70-odd loggerhead turtle eggs crack open.
But the question on everyone’s lips is: will the eggs nesting in Ġnejna Bay hatch or not?
Today is their 66th incubation day, past the post of the average 60-day incubation period.
However, not all hope is lost.
“There is still a chance of them hatching since some may take up to 79 days,” said a Mepa spokesman.
The incubation period is usually longer in cooler areas, but hope is the last to die.
The nest has been a major attraction since the loggerhead turtle lumbered on to the sand on the night of June 21.
It laid its eggs two metres away from the water’s edge, amid camera flashes and jubilant onlookers.
This time Mepa is adamant that any baby turtles are welcomed into a somewhat quieter world.
“Should the turtles hatch, lights on the beach will need to be switched off because hatchlings are disoriented by artificial lights,” said the spokesman.
This means whoever happens to be there when the eggs crack must switch off mobiles, torches and cameras.
“It is also advisable that cars park away from the beach with their lights facing the fields,” he said.
Mepa has considered switching off or putting shades on the car park lights.
“However, these lights do not reflect directly on the beach itself and particularly on the inner part where the nest is.”
They have also prepared a temporary shade to pull over the nest during hatching, just in case there are some temporary lights that cannot be controlled quickly enough.
Next door in Golden Bay, Radisson SAS hotel has agreed to switch off the external lights facing Ġnejna Bay, should the eggs hatch.
Once out of their eggs, the turtles are expected to use the horizon as their guide and “scurry in a frenzy” towards the open sea.
Transport Malta has issued a notice to mariners that boats will only be allowed to move when the hatchlings have made it out of the bay.
Even the Fisheries are cooperating and will ensure fishing in the bay and surrounding area will stop during hatching.
There are various reasons why the eggs might not hatch, such as bacterial infection from the sand, seawater leakage under the nest or unsuccessful fertilisation.