The KZNSB Operations staff undertook a sardine surveillance flight this morning from Virginia to Mazeppa Bay on the Eastern Cape Coast. The outcome of this flight was very disappointing and confusing as the only sardine related predator activity seen was found in the area between Mboyti and Port St Johns on the Eastern Cape coast.
Issued by Mike Anderson-Reade, Head of Operations, KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board
This activity consisted of a few thousand common and bottlenose dolphins spread over a very large area. These dolphins were just milling and no signs of feeding were observed.
Unfortunately, the water clarity in this area was very poor with a visibility of less than 3m.
The activity that was previously observed in the Hole in the Wall area has disappeared as has the activity off the Bashee and Mazeppa river mouths. To add to the confusion the thousands of Cape Gannets that have previously been seen in these areas have dwindled to a few hundred birds only.
It is possible that the sardine shoals have either moved back southwards, offshore, or are swimming near the seabed. Divers in the area report water temperatures of 23.2 degrees which is way above the 19.5 degrees which the sardines favour.
There is a possibility however that thermoclines are present and there is cooler water near the bottom.
Although the sardine run has occurred in June over the past few years it is not unusual for the run to occur anytime between the beginning of June and late July.
Due to the lack of visible signs of sardines shark safety gear has been replaced at Margate Main beach, St Michaels and Hibberdene to provide some bathing facilities for the Hibiscus Coast. Staff will be on hand monitoring the situation over the weekend.
The next flight will take place next week, probably on Wednesday.
For more information, visit www.shark.co.za