The absence of loggerhead turtle nests in Malta and Gozo this year is not considered unusual and should be viewed over a longer period rather than on the basis of a single nesting season, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has said.

An ERA spokesperson told The Malta Independent that no nests have been confirmed so far this year, despite a number of female turtles coming ashore and returning to the sea without laying eggs.

His comments follow concerns raised by Nature Trust Malta after an unprecedented nesting season this year, in which 11 attempts had been recorded without a single confirmed nest.

Asked whether any nests had been recorded and whether their absence was unusual compared to previous years, ERA said monitoring was continuing throughout August.

"Nature Trust Malta is carrying out daily checks on beaches where nesting has occurred in previous years, in coordination with ERA, and this monitoring will continue throughout August. However, no loggerhead turtle nests have been confirmed so far this year," he said.

"A number of false crawls have nevertheless been recorded, meaning that female turtles have come ashore but returned to the sea without laying eggs."

Nature Trust Malta previously told The Malta Independent that the 2026 season had been "very unusual", with 11 nesting attempts recorded but none resulting in eggs being laid.

The organisation officially closed its turtle nesting season last week, although volunteers are continuing patrols until the end of August in case a late nesting attempt occurs.

The unsuccessful attempts included turtles emerging on beaches in both Malta and Gozo, with some returning to sea despite apparently favourable conditions.

One of the earliest incidents occurred at Armier Bay in June, when a loggerhead turtle came ashore but encountered sunbeds blocking its path up the beach. The turtle eventually returned to sea without nesting.

Nature Trust had said that the incident demonstrated the importance of keeping beaches clear during nesting season.

Asked specifically whether ERA had assessed the Armier incident and whether human disturbance or physical obstacles could discourage turtles from nesting, ERA said it was not possible to establish why the turtle abandoned its attempt on the basis of that incident alone.

"With regard to the reported nesting attempt at Armier, it is not possible to determine from one event why a turtle returned to sea without laying eggs, since false crawls can occur for several reasons," he said.

ERA said the overall slowdown should not in itself be interpreted as an abnormal development.

"As to the slower nesting period, this is not seen as unusual: turtle nesting can vary considerably from year to year, and a similar slowdown is being observed in southern Italy and Sicily in 2026," he said.

He explained that the breeding patterns of individual female loggerheads also mean that annual nest numbers can fluctuate considerably.

"Female loggerheads tend to show strong fidelity to their nesting areas, generally returning to the same region to breed, although some may use nearby beaches or occasionally establish new nesting sites," he said.

"However, noting that nesting has only recently commenced again in Malta, and that the same female turtle does not normally breed every year, generally leaving intervals of around two to three years between breeding seasons (although this varies between individual turtles), changes are expected."

ERA said the gap between breeding seasons was linked to the considerable amount of energy required for female loggerheads to reproduce.

"This is mainly because producing and laying several clutches of eggs requires substantial energy, and female loggerheads typically need time to recover before breeding again," he said.

ERA said that for this reason, longer-term monitoring rather than a single year's figures is needed to identify meaningful population trends.

Nature Trust Malta announced the official close of the turtle nesting season last week, describing 2026 as a "hard year" in which none of the recorded nesting attempts resulted in a nest.

The organisation said volunteers had experienced a "rollercoaster of emotions", repeatedly finding crawls only to discover they were false crawls.

In one particularly unusual case, volunteers watched a turtle dig a nesting chamber and remain over it for around two hours without laying a single egg.

Nature Trust also reported turtles emerging onto rocky areas or extremely busy beaches where nesting activity had not previously been recorded, in some instances encountering people blocking their path.

The unexpected activity prompted the organisation to significantly expand its monitoring operation during the season, increasing the number of beaches being watched from seven to 17.

Despite the increased monitoring, none of the attempts resulted in a confirmed nest.

Nature Trust said volunteers would nevertheless continue patrolling beaches until the end of August to ensure that any late-nesting turtle is not missed.

"This year has showed us we cannot take anything for granted. Just because we've had at least one nest every year, it is not guaranteed," the organisation said.

It concluded by expressing hope that the 2027 nesting season would prove more successful.