Do The Sardines Spawn Here In KZN?
Do The Sardines Spawn Here In KZN? Deep diving Beth Neale has a question for us…we have tried to answer it as best we could…
Welcome back to the Sardine News
yeah welcome back
Sardine News beautiful
beautiful June day again June 18th
just marvelous wonderful stuff
not too much sardine action going on
I heard a rumour that there was a net in *Toti
going just now but in the meantime
um since there’s been so much sardine action
the last few days
I’m kind of relieved that there isn’t too much
news coming in but I’ve been getting lots of comments
lots of questions and I got a question from Beth Neale
we all know who she is and uh
I couldn’t answer it so I figured no ways
I’m gonna ask Kevin to answer it so Kevin off you go
thanks mate
yeah that’s open to debate um
the problem with spawning is that they
they spawn in cold water
that’s why the major shoal moves up the east coast
I mean the west coast um
that’s where they you know come off the Agulhas Bank
they move up up the west coast to Angola
and southern Angola and northern Namibia
that’s where they’re spawning
and then they’re moving back to the Agulhas Bank
and the
the East Coast sardine run is an anomaly
and nobody knows yet if they actually do spawn
because that is what the migration is all about
but Ushaka Marine World had a study going on
where they were trying to figure out
if these sardines are just like
going to their death
and becoming part of the food chain
because of the mistake of coming up the East Coast and
um
there were there’s no results yet
as to whether they are actually spawning
or whether that a large portion of that shoal
once they reach warm water
goes out to the deep
and moves back to their Gallus bank
they don’t even know that yet
so yeah that’s
like a question that everybody would love to know
because that then
that means that the sardine run
actually serves a purpose
uh for the
for the you know
biomass of the sardines
but there’s no definitive answer to that
and that’s something that
if you could come up with the answer to that
scientifically you’d be a millionaire overnight
bud ha ha ha I wish I could figure that shit out
another thing to bear in mind with the sardine run
is that uh
Antarctica
ice cold water down south is very nutrient rich water
that’s why the humpbacks kind of
hang out there in the summertime
and that nutrient rich water full of phytoplankton
in winter time
you get a cold upwelling that moves up north
and it moves over the Agulhas Bank
and that’s what triggers the sardine run
very high nutrients
lots of phytoplankton and that’s what they’re following
um off the Agulhas Bank up the west coast of Africa
and they’re feeding on that the whole way and spawning
and then moving back to the Agulhas Bank
in the summertime so
with the cold upwellings that happen
and kind of splits down at the Cape
these sardines that make the wrong turn
the water that’s coming up
the East Coast is also very rich in nutrients
the same nutrients
and by the time they get to the warmer water
in case it in it’s too warm for this phytoplankton
so that’s also part of the question
um cause they’re gonna run out of food pretty soon
and we don’t know even
if those sardines make it back to the Agulhas Bank
or if they just become part of the food chain
so it’s a very intricate complex
uh situation that’s happening and uh
would love some answers cheers
Sardines and Sighting Maps
We have started the 2025 Sardine Run Map! Download our app to your phone or device, accept notifications, and you will never miss a single sardine.
2024 was a thrilling year for sardines. All the action has been logged right here on The Sardine News. The 2024 map has been viewed 200 000 times and just keeps going.
Which led us to decide to keep the map live. And keep adding unique marine animal sightings and events. That occurs non-stop all year round. Last year we started to log more whale and dolphin sightings. And we even had a shipwreck! This year we have had two sailboat incidents already. PLUS, we have already logged some sardines!
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps…
2024 Sardine Map
2023 Sardine Map
2021 Sardine Map
Channels
Brucifire Surf Retorts – highly entertaining surf reporting
Master Watermen – news from way down deep
The Sardine News – neva miss a single sardine
FishBazaruto – 1000 pounds plus
MYDO Tackle Talk – highly technical sport fishing
Surf Launching Southern Africa – getting out there safely
Water Woes – complain about your municipality here
Websites
umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu River
umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za – will get you right out and onto the edge
thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine
masterwatermen.co.za – news from under water
fishbazaruto.com – dreams
brucifire.co.za – surf retorts
