Climate change is already having an impact on turtles, with prolonged heatwaves being blamed on a record number of nests with fewer male hatchlings.

So far, eight nests have been found on Malta and Gozo’s beaches, the highest number ever.

According to the people tasked with caring for the animals, hotter weather  driven by climate change could be the reason the turtles are remaining in Malta’s waters instead of migrating elsewhere.

“One of the things we believe drove this increase is the fact that there’s been a heatwave all over the Mediterranean,” Vincent Attard, CEO of Nature Trust Malta (NTM), told Times of Malta.

“They usually follow the fish but, this year, with temperatures so high, we have even seen turtles nest in the north of Italy for the first time.”

However, while climate change has likely been driving turtles to remain in Malta, Attard says rising temperatures are still threatening turtle population numbers.

The sex of turtles is determined by the temperature in which the eggs are incubated, with cooler temperatures producing males and warmer temperatures producing females.

With temperatures so high, nests are increasingly producing more female than male eggs, which spells trouble for the future of the species.

“Previously, we were seeing about an 80 per cent female to 20 per cent male ratio of hatchlings but, more recently, due to climate change, we are seeing a reduction in male turtles, with the split now sitting at 85 per cent female and 15 per cent male,” he said.

'A problem of survival'

Attard explained that female turtles typically mate with more than one male before they lay their eggs and if not enough males are in the water, then it will lead to the turtle producing more unfertilised eggs.

This is something already being observed in this season’s nests. Of the 68 eggs found in the first nest that hatched, 23 were unfertilised.

“Not having enough males can create a new problem for the survival of the population,” Attard said.

One of this year’s hatchlings. Volunteers have seen more males than females.

“Turtles have been around for 20 million years but climate change could easily be their downfall. If this goes on, they will not survive.”

Meeting Attard at the Xrobb l-Għaġin Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, where NTM cares for injured turtles and other wildlife, it’s clear that looking after the next generation of turtles requires a lot of resources and effort.

Together with the Environmental Resources Authority (ERA), Attard coordinates night and early morning patrols on every sandy beach in Malta and Gozo. For every nest discovered, it will require roughly 120 volunteers to make sure the site remains safe until it is ready to hatch.

Until then, volunteers keep watch for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, waiting for the hatchlings to emerge around 50 to 60 days later.

Maltese beaches are too densely populated, even late at night, Attard says, so volunteers try to ease the impact of human disturbances.

Aside from that, volunteers allow nature to take its course and will not intervene unless they encounter a situation in which the whole nest is likely to be endangered. This year, one nest in Riviera Bay had to be relocated as the turtle laid its eggs too close to the shore, where the nest would have likely flooded and washed away.

'Learnt our lesson the hard way'

“The nest was moved next to the others in Golden Sands, according to established protocol,” Attard said.

“We learned this lesson the hard way in 2012 when one of the nests flooded and all of the eggs died.”

Volunteers are also needed to make sure beachgoers, who are mostly respectful, do not get too close to the eggs.

“During COVID, there was a year in which we recorded five nests but there had actually been seven. Unfortunately, one of those nests ended up dying because so many people had trampled over it that the sand was packed too tightly and the hatchlings could not escape,” he said.

Despite the heightened security around the turtle eggs on beaches, Attard says that people, especially visitors, are very interested in their activities and are very cooperative.

“Nature does have an economic value and lots of tourists find the turtle nests attractive,” he said.

“We even encounter people who have travelled specifically to see them and some offer to volunteer while they are on holiday.”