Sardines made a surprise appearance at Scottburgh yesterday morning, reports the KZN Sharks Board.

A total of 110 crates were netted in one net at Scottburgh main beach with 25 crates of mackerel.

This may signal the start of this year’s sardine run.

Head of Operations Mike Anderson-Reade said they have had reports of numerous shoals of baitfish between Scottburgh and Umtwalume and it is highly likely that some, but not all of these, are sardines (pilchards).

However, these shoals were not accompanied by the normal predator activity.

The Sharks Board will be undertaking a flight today to see if any shoals can be seen further southwards.

“It is very generally difficult to try and predict the movement of these fish especially when they move in from deep offshore which we suspect was the case [yesterday] morning.

“The next day or so should give us a better understanding of whether the netting this morning was a once off or a sign of more to come,” said Anderson-Reade.

Shark safety gear has been removed from Scottburgh, Umgababa and Karridene at this stage.

All the other shark safety gear along the coast remains in place and beaches are open for bathing.

This may change as the run develops and more gear may be removed over the coming days depending on the status of the sardine shoals.

The sardine run normally occurs from May through July when billions of sardines spawn in the cool waters and move northward along the east coast of South Africa.

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