Sardines made their arrival at Margate beach on Friday and they were met with great excitement from locals.

Crowds of people braved the cold weather and icy winds to get down to the beach to witness the seine netters bringing the ‘silver gold’ ashore.

The beach was packed, some reckon there were at least 1 000 people, and the excitement was tangible as the thrill of seeing the fish being netted proved infectious.

The hopes are high that this might signal another successful run of the ‘Greatest Shoal on Earth’.

Crates are apparently selling for around R1 500, which is not unheard of early on in the season.

Rising Sun Chatsworth reported earlier that the sardine run is an annual phenomenon that brings millions of these silver fish incredibly close to shore, with visitors to the paradise of the Zulu kingdom afforded front-row seats to this world-class action.

The sardine run, believed to be the planet’s biggest biomass migration, is accompanied by flocks of seabirds – cormorants, gulls and terns – diving into the waters, while dolphins, game fish and even whales feast on the salty fish.

Sharks – copper, dusky, blacktip and spinner – also join in the feast, making this one of the best marine viewing opportunities.

“The past two years have brought some spectacular sardine run action to the KZN South Coast and we’re anticipating another bumper year,” said CEO of Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT), Phelisa Mangcu.