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The annual sardine run has drawn massive shoals along KZN’s coast, with sharks and dolphins joining the spectacle and beaches closed for public safety.
Picture for illustration: iStock
An uncountable number of sardines have made their way from the Cape to the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, kickstarting the ‘Greatest shoal on Earth’.
The sardine run kicked off over the weekend.
Millions of southern African pilchards, or sardines, migrate along the coast in massive shoals that extend for kilometres in winter in a phenomenon known as the Sardine Run.
Sardine run kicks off on KZN south coast
Alongside being an incredible sight in its own right, the movement draws in hungry marine predators such as dolphins, sharks, whales, seagulls, and game fish.
The eThekwini Municipality has prohibited swimming at all southern beaches from Monday until further notice as a result of this.
“This is due to the removal of shark nets to allow for the sardine run,” the municipality said on social media.
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KZN Sharks Board monitoring the run
The sardine run is monitored by the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board Maritime Centre of Excellence, which also removes shark protection gear before the run to allow the animals to roam freely.
Wayne Harrison of the KZN Sharks Board said on Monday that over the weekend, the reports of sardine shoals off Port Edward prompted a netting operation despite rough sea conditions with large swells and strong currents.
“Two netters were successful on Saturday, and a total of approximately 80 crates of sardines were netted at Port Edward. One of the nets had 21 sharks caught; all of the sharks were released alive,” Harrison said in a statement on Facebook.
Sunday’s efforts at Sandspit yielded over 40 crates, but most sardines and some sharks were released back into the ocean, with shoals later moving to Pumula, where challenging conditions hampered netting.
Harrison said on Monday that conditions had improved, allowing netters to successfully catch sardines at Pennington and Rocky Bay, with large shoals of sardines still accompanied by sharks.
The board said over the weekend that its team neutralised gear from Port Edward to Isipingo, with no captures reported despite high shark activity, and bathing remains banned from Port Edward to Isipingo.
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