Fishermen poised for annual sardine run

The sardines are here... well, almost! Sardines usually make an appearance on the east coast in June, but fishermen may have to get their nets out a little earlier this year, the experts predict.

They said that because of cooler water temperatures than previous years, sardines could reach KwaZulu-Natal by the middle of the month.

Andrew Aitken (author of Sardine Run - The Greatest Shoal On Earth and a former Natal Sharks Board employee) regularly keeps track of sardine activity and said that he would be surprised if sardines did not arrive in KZN in "at least two weeks' time".

"The water temperature in KZN is cooler than it was this time last year. Although it is difficult to project when the sardines will arrive, I think it will during the middle of May."

Aitken said that there had already been reports of sardine sightings in Transkei and a big shoal had been going past Port Elizabeth for several weeks now.

"Sporadic pockets of sardines have been spotted in Port St Johns and this area is normally a holding point for the fish. Once the sardines begin moving north of Port St Johns it's just a matter of time before they reach KZN," Aitken said.

Sardines only move up the coast when the water cools, "but if the water starts to warm then they would stop moving," he said.

Aitken added that sardines had been spotted off the KZN coast this early in the past, but not in recent years.

Jeremy Cliff, head of research at the Natal Sharks Board, said there had been a lot of activity in the Transkei at the Kei River Mouth, possibly caused by sardines.

"Sardines start gathering as early as April in the Cape, but our only reach our shores in June. At the moment the water is too warm for the sardines," he said.

"The water temperature needs to be colder than 20°C before the sardines start arriving."