THE KZN Sharks Board undertook an observation flight early on Tuesday, 14 June to monitor the progress of the annual sardine run.
Head of Operations at KwaZulu-Natal Board Maritime Centre of Excellence, Mike Anderson-Reade, said it was hoped that the cold spell and strong winds over the past weekend may have assisted in pushing shoals of sardines closer to the KZN shores.
“The marine activity noted during the flight however was relatively sparse by normal standards. One point of interest was the presence of Cape gannets and common dolphin activity feeding on unknown small pockets of baitfish in the area between Port Grosvenor and “Little Gosses” This is some 5km north of the well-known Waterfall Bluff stretch of coast where historically, shoals of sardines are often observed for days or weeks prior to their arrival on the coast of KZN. It is possible that these shoals may have contained a mixture of sardine and other baitfish species,” he said.
Anderson-Reade said intermittent shoals of east coast round herring (red eye sardines) were seen in the area stretching from Port St Johns southwards to Brazen Head. The baitfish species was also visually confirmed by divers operating in the area.
“The flight was terminated at the Mbhashe River mouth as no further activity of interest was noted. The KZNSB will continue to monitor activity in the days ahead,” he said.
