DURBAN was vibrating with excitement as sardines popped up along local shores yesterday. Fishermen successfully netted at the Snake Park Pier as well as the Bay of Plenty.

According to the Mike Anderson-Reade of the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board Maritime Centre of Excellence (KZNSB), the sightings have been relatively small in comparison to what they would expect with the annual sardine run. The biggest batch – 100 baskets – was caught at the Bay of Plenty.

“Previously they have also been spotted in small pockets along the South Coast. It has been a bit concerning and quite curious as we have not seen the usual predators, such as dolphins and sharks, with these pockets,” he said.

On 17 July sardines were netted in Umgababa, but only 10 per cent of the catch was sardines.

The tiny silver fish were also spotted in uMhlanga at East Moore Crescent before the school holidays, said Anderson-Reade.

He added that the weather made it difficult to determine if the sardines had moved on from the Durban shores. “They are as easy to predict as the lottery. They can stay in Durban or be gone by tomorrow,” he said.