Bathing banned as sardines surface

THE south coast has seen some intense sardine activities this past week. The KZN Sharks Board noted that there had been an increase in sardine related activity between Bazely and Amanzimtoti.

On Wednesday morning, 3 July, it was reported that from first light, shoals of sardines started rising to the surface about 1km offshore. This activity stretched for about 5km from Kelso through to Umdoni Point. Scattered shoals were spotted inshore, but looked thin on the surfazce. Sharks were also seen jumping in amongst the offshore shoals and there were 40-50 Cape Gannets diving in this area. At one stage yellowfin tuna were seen smashing through some of the inshore shoals.

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“There were numerous attempted nettings which were unsuccessful at Pennington, Scottburgh, Illovo and Winkle that we know of and there were two confirmed nettings at Amanzimtoti. The two nets consisted of around 15 crates and 250 crates. It was also reported that there was quiet a lot of gamefish activity with the sardines in this area,”said KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB), Acting: Head of Operations Greg Thompson.

“Once again, these fish are very unpredictable and are capable of doing disappearing acts overnight. At the moment the bathing between Isipingo and Port Edward is banned due to the sardine related activity in these areas. If you are unsure about the bathing status please make sure you chat to the lifeguards before entering the water.The KZNSB will continue to monitor activity in the days ahead,” said Thompson.

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