about a month ago - Monday, 03 December 2012, 10:35
Summer 2012 will always be the time that I will associate with sea turtle experiences around the Maltese Islands. This is not because it is my first experience to encounter a sea turtle, by far my first recollection of a sea turtle sighting was at the age of 9. However, this year it was the highest count of sea turtle sightings that I gathered. Moreover, the largest specimen of the Loggerhead Turtle, Carretta carretta, I ever saw in my life time and undoubtedly in Maltese Islands was in this year. It is also the first time, not just for me, but for most of us, to experience the Loggerhead Turtle nesting in our islands. For me it seemed that this nesting was more of an accident, rather than intentional, since normally a cautious adult female turtle would never climb on a beach with flood lights everywhere, dispose its eggs so close to the sea shore and scram so fast that it will hit a floater on the way out to sea.
This is what happened to the presumably lost turtle that on 20.6.12 landed on Ġnejna bay, came on the beach, laid 79 eggs (almost half a nest) and fled back to sea. As Sciberras and Deidun (in Caruana, 2012) stated that probably this specimen was heading to Lampedusa and it got lost or could not wait to deposit the eggs till the end of the trip. I doubt that it was a released rescued turtle or that it was born in this location, due to the fact that the previous nesting was recorded at Ġnejna in 1915. It is documented that, not so in the distant past, marine turtles used to lay eggs on sandy beaches such as at Ramla l-Ħamra, in Gozo, and Santa Marija Bay, in Comino. A more recent laying is said to have occurred at Golden Bay (Ramla tal-Mixquqa) in 1960 (Deidun and Schembri, 2005) when the eggs were dug up and, with mother turtle finished, cooked by some local Neanderthals.
Whatever the case was, it happened and I think for once (unlike the recorded past) I must say the Maltese public acted maturely, and besides recording the event, they did not disturb the turtle nor the nest. The same cannot be said to the officials as they feared that the eggs were too close to the water and this may harm the eggs. This is partially true, but when you assess the period when the eggs were laid and the implications when moving the eggs at that time, I would have personally decided not to touch them.
If there was no alternative I would have put first in mind the eggs, and I would have never buried them in the same overpopulated and very active beach but transfer them to a more quite pristine pocket beach or hatched them in captivity. I could have even tried to take them to Lampedusa, because I feel that currently no local beach is available for this species to breed. However, as I am writing this article and all the event had passed including the eggs not hatching for mostly natural agencies, I feel that it would have been wrong that if it was possible things went my way.
This is not from an ecological point of view obviously, but from the cultural development that I observed, which took place during this whole story. As I witnessed the public becoming aware quickly of the situation, government and non government entities performed an excellent job in stipulating temporary enforcement laws and physical protection, but this time the applause should also go to the general public.
The vibe in the air that was noted at Ġnejna and all over the island, including the importance that was given by the media was phenomenal. As naturalists we find it hard to get any public support, not even in the simplest events, but this time when we asked for volunteers to stand by the egg watch, the list was flooded by interested people ready to participate. The public generally respected the boundary for the nest protection site and many were continuously asking volunteers if they require any help and asking at the same time general questions about the natural history of the species. The turtle adoption pack by Nature Trust (Malta) was never this successful, and the curiosity and interest amongst most individuals was oddly surprising. Most of public also proved to be law abiding during these two months.
Local summer residents and visitors alike informed me that this was their best summer yet because they enjoyed less traffic, less pollution (noise, light or otherwise) and they prayed that a turtle will nest each year for such a summer to repeat itself! What I enjoyed most was there was a sense of pride amongst most people that I discussed the issue with. As a nation we became more educated towards environmental conservation and we are lucky that such a majestic species provided us with such an experience. Alas, this wilted towards the end because of the fear that the eggs will not hatch, in which it became a reality. Yet again more good than bad came out of the whole event. I myself enjoyed several close encounters with wandering sea turtles during coastal snorkelling, but never would I have imagined that by the end the summer, there will be a sighting of the biggest specimen I had ever encountered.
On 7.10.12 I was at Rabat police station in Gozo reporting a different matter when a turtle rescue call came about. I rushed to Dwejra to see the situation when I encountered a couple who were snorkelling in the limits of Fungus Rock. They recounted the story; as they were snorkelling, this gentle 50kg giant approached the couple slowly as if asking for help. Ralph Felice and Annabelle Attard quickly noticed the fishing lines where coming out of its rear end and that the animal looked in pain. Moving such a giant close to shore was no easy task and the latter took care of the animal in water for hours. When I and my colleges (Jeffrey Sciberras and Luca Pisani) found the couple, it was a pain stalking procedure to pull out such a heavy animal out of the water and carrying it up a hill way where a Gozo Police vehicle was waiting for it.
The vehicle was necessary to carry this majestic animal straight to Mġarr so Nature Trust members and Mepa Officials could take this animal for care to San Luċjan in Marsaxlokk from Ċirkewwa. Great caution was taken not to cause the animal anymore pain and to keep it wet. Cooperation between officials and public was again seen as its best for nature protection. As the patrol boat headed back to its berth the AFM Operations Centre was informed that a yacht had had found another injured turtle near Ġnejna. The crew handed the turtle to the sailors on the patrol boat, who later handed both turtles to Nature Trust and Mepa officials at Ċirkewwa quay. The same patrol boat, P-32, last week recovered an injured Greater Flamingo close to Baħar ċ-Ċagħaq. I hope that both turtles make excellent quick recoveries followed by a release in the wild, and I hope we will have a similar summer next year with more sightings, nestlings and less rescues of these beautiful relics.
I close this chapter by metioning again the enthusiasm and sensation these animals caused to the Maltese public when three rescued turtles, after a full recovery for several months at San Luċjan, were released from Ġnejna Bay on 9.10.12. A negative sensation was also caused when an adult turtle was found dead on 7.11.12 at Mgarr in Gozo. Death of this protected species seem to be caused by a tyrant who tied the animal and let the poor creature drown thus sufficate to death. I hope these stories will become a thing of the past and the initial story of this article will became frequent news.
Arnold Sciberras is Fauna Conservation Officer of Nature Trust Malta
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