61 turtle eggs hatched in the past few days from the sixth turtle nest, which was situated at Ramla Bay in Gozo, the Environment & Resources Authority announced on Friday evening.

This nest – the sixth to be laid this summer – was found on 28 July and “carefully opened” by the ERA and Nature Trust Malta on Friday.

The nest held a total of 93 eggs with 61 successfully hatching, the ERA and Nature Trust said.

Volunteers have been on constant watch around the nests, and their work intensified in the last week as high winds hit Malta, potentially putting the nests in jeopardy.

A total of 314 turtle eggs have successfully hatched so far in what has been a record summer of turtle nests being laid in Malta and Gozo.