Reports of sardines being netted at Margate in KwaZulu-Natal this week are just a fisherman's tale.
The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board said on Thursday that photographs of netting on the south coast posted on social media earlier in the week were "from years gone by."
The board's head of operations Mike Anderson-Reade said a flight to the Hole in the Wall was undertaken on Thursday morning to see if there were any signs of the tiny silver fish ahead of the cold front.
"No definite shoals of sardine were seen. However‚ about 1,000 Cape gannets were seen diving sporadically about one nautical mile off Sugar Loaf‚ which is situated about 8km to the south of Port St Johns‚" he said.
"There was no other activity in the area and it is suspected that these birds were feeding on shoals of various types of baitfish that are generally found off the Eastern Cape coast for most of the year."
Millions of sardines usually leave the cold waters off Cape Point and make their way to the east coast in June or July.
Each winter‚ holiday-makers flock to KwaZulu-Natal to catch a glimpse of the spectacle‚ which includes sharks‚ birds and dolphins — and entrepreneurial fishermen — in a feeding frenzy‚ preying on the sardines.
The first basket of at least 30 dozen fish‚ which is usually the most expensive‚ sells for about R700. By the end of the sardine run‚ a dozen fish would cost between R10 and R20.
- TMG Digital/TimesLIVE
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