Category: South Africa

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So why do the sardine shoals not come at all some years?

A bumper sardine run 2020 leaves some unanswered but relevant questions about our annual sardine migration and who gets to harvest and who are in lockdown

So why do the sardine shoals not come at all some years?

So why do the sardine shoals not come at all some years?: Well I got a call from Mr Adam Kamdar of Township Hyper yesterday evening. Great dude and really in the know in the fishing scene.  I had guests and dogs and things going and I could hardly hear, but his question went along the lines of…

“Sean, do you think this Covid thing was the cause of the bumper sardine run?”

Well ok that pushed just about all my buttons, so here is the full answer Adam…

AIS

AIS is the theme to this quasi-sardine report compiled as a result of the big question Adam has posed.

You can download an AIS App to your phone. There are many and they are free for the most. They show you, where the big and ugly fishing trawlers are. Right on your phone!

AIS.

Automatic Identification System. A great effort, and if everyone played along, saves lives (collision avoidance), and sealife (real-time tracking data to catch poachers fishing illegally).

BUT.

And this is a big BUT.

If you are a poacher, you can turn your AIS transponder, right the hell OFF! With a switch!

So this is how they do it then. When pair-trawling (the most destructive of all the illegal fishing methods), one of the collaborators, turns off. Easy as that. If the fleet ventures, in a group (read commercial fishing high-tech armada), then as they get near protected waters, one or two of them turns off, and enters the forbidden zone.

This happens ALL the time. The Sardine News tried to start a trawler watch to log sightings of suspect activity – but there is so much of it, that we got bogged right down right as we started. This was in Mozambique where these ugly boats are literally EVERYWHERE now.

Sardine Run 2020

Whilst we were imprisoned in lockdown thanks to our sheep governments interpretation of convid19, the Chinese/Japanese/Whoever fleets were plying the waters the whole time! Where? Slap bang on the sardine migration path. The AIS charts looked like a rugby scrum.

No photo description available.

And if you have been in St. Francis this time of year, any year, you can smell the sardines from the harbor for miles around. Go sniffing around there for yourselves. Huge loads of sardines. Wonder where they go? And whose were they in the first place?

Whoever they are and wherever they are from, they are ALL rigged with the latest in navigation and depth-sounding equipment. Utilising sonar pulses pumped out by a high-powered transducer, they can detect and chase a shoal of sardines 12 or more miles away! And with their huge capacity and tethers to a mother ship lurking around the area somewhere, that is also a factory ship – that drops CANNED sardines off at the wharf – what chance does the public ever have of getting their share, in the usually slow years of sardine running?

So…

Did Convid19 affect the sardine run this merry 2020?

Nope. It’s a bumper sardine run like we always dream of. It’s beyond perfect. The gamefish have arrived. Sharks are getting their teeth pulled. The weather is fantastic and ecological patterns are in place. Those pundits that complain year after year are completely silent.

Only. They just don’t get it.

AIS.

Shows that there were fleets of fishing boats fishing, directly in the path that the hapless sardines take right now during this sardine run 2020. Whilst we were in lockdown, there were commercial fishermen out there loading up! Enjoying a totally illegal, totally unnecessary lockdown, and infringement of our basic human right to freedom to fish as well!

My answer then is this. These boats remove the exact amount of tonnes and tonnes of sardines missing on our beaches – with this migration – each year. Only this time, there were just so many they couldn’t catch them all.

“Our” sardines?

Another interesting question.

BUT, one thing is for sure, if not for the bumper numbers that this year has given, the sardines hardly ever make it past Port Elizabeth, before they are all netted and frozen.

So, that leaves us back at square one. We have NO voice. It’s time to get political. If not that, then at least investigative in that we need to know why these ships are allowed to be plundering our sardines.

Whilst we are in lockdown!

Almost sounds like a conspiracy in theory.

Adam, my good mate, over to you…

Stay up-to-date with The Sardine News covering the goings-on, during this bumper sardine run in year 2020!

We are on Facebook right here, we run an action-packed YouTube video channel right here. Please like and subscribe to our channel on YouTube if you would like to encourage us to pump out more and more video. We have done really well recently with some great video produced in conjunction with the Fishing Pro Shops Johan Wessels – chasing sardines down in the Port Shepstone area. We got out to sea twice and caught a bunch of gamefish in the surf zone, and in the Umzimkulu River Estuary. Click on over to our YouTube video channel right here. And please consider a Like and Subscribe. Thank you

By The Sardine News

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Sardine activity 2020 increases on the KZN South Coast

Sardine activity 2020 by OJ
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And it’s a big thank you to OJ Communications and UGU Tourism for penning up yet another super-informative and well-illustrated Sardine Activity 2020 report – Editor
15 June 2020

Sardine activity 2020 increases on the KZN South Coast as winter chill sets in

Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT) is excited to report more sardine action on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Coast today (Monday, 15 June), following the weekend’s cold spell. The Sardine Run is an annual attraction whereby sardine shoals move northwards along the coastline, attracting marine life and seine netters. The KZN South Coast benefits from the Sardine Run action being close to the shore, and this year the little fish have already brought a lot of ocean action.

“We’ve had great weather today with spectacular visibility in all directions,” said Noel McDonogh, pilot at World of Wings Flight School, who has been busy taking magnificent aerial shots of the Sardine Run activity. “We’ve spotted sardine shoals off Scottburgh’s Back Beach with many sharks trailing the fish, and whales breaching between Clansthal and Aliwal Shoal. There have been bull sharks, more than 3 metres in length, spotted among the fish; and a southern right whale seen just one kilometre off the Scottburgh beachfront.”

With recreational fishing and seine netting now allowed under Level 3 – with relevant permits – seine netters have been very busy catching sardines. Today, netting took place at Pennington and Scottburgh with large numbers of gannets, sharks, whales dolphins pursuing the bait balls. The sardine run, and associated ‘sardine fever’, is usually a big drawcard for tourism on the KZN South Coast, and USCT is pleased to be able to welcome recreational anglers back to its shores at this time.

Keep up-to-date with all the Sardine Run videos and details by following ‘South Coast Tourism’ on Facebook and @infosouthcoast on Twitter. For more information about the KZN South Coast and USCT, visit www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za or download the free ‘Explore KZN South Coast’ app to find a local supplier.

High resolution images are available upon request.

IMAGE CREDIT: Noel McDonogh / Wow Flight School

CAPTION: Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT) is excited about the return of sardine fever to the South Coast. Shoals of sardines were sighted off the KZN South Coast today with netting taking place at Pennington and Scottburgh. Dolphins, sharks and gannets were seen pursuing the bait balls. The sardine run is usually a big tourism drawcard for the South Coast and they are pleased to welcome recreational anglers back to their shores. World of Wings microlight pilot Noel McDonagh shared these images of a birds’ eye view of the action.

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/ENDS

About Ugu South Coast Tourism

Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT) is the official destination management organisation of the Ugu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The Ugu District comprises four local municipalities that include Umdoni, Umzumbe, Umuziwabantu and Ray Nkonyeni. USCT’s mandate is to grow tourism within the KZN South Coast. This involves implementing marketing and development initiatives that are aimed at showcasing the diverse offerings and experiences of the South Coast as tourist destination. A board of directors oversees USCT, headed by CEO, Phelisa Mangcu.

About KZN South Coast

Known as the ‘Paradise of the Zulu Kingdom’, the KZN South Coast stretches 120 kilometres from Scottburgh to Port Edward and inland to Harding. Here, the spirit of adventure can be discovered among the many cultural experiences, as well as the 35 nature trails and 58 beaches, ideal for activities like river rafting, abseiling, suspension bridges, paintball, surfing, SUP, canoeing, beach horse rides, shark cage diving and free diving. Nicknamed ‘The Golf Coast’, there are 11 golf courses on the KZN South Coast ranging in difficulty, with endless hiking, mountain biking and 4×4 trails for more rugged excursions. Promoting sustainability, the KZN South Coast has a growing agri-tourism sector that offers world-class produce and hosts tours and excursions. The region boasts a number of permanently managed Blue Flag beaches, and is home to some of the world’s top diving sites, Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks. The originality continues with the annual Sardine Run, coined the #GreatestShoalonEarth, which is the largest biomass migration on earth and a marvel to witness. The region’s many nature reserves are inhabited by indigenous bird and wildlife, and it holds the title for ‘smallest desert on earth’, The Red Desert in Port Edward. The KZN South Coast is a fast-emerging MICE destination which also plays host to a number of high-profile events including the The Bike Fest, Uvukile Gospel Festival, Ugu Jazz, Ugu Film Festival and the South Coast Fever MTB & Trail Run Series.

Issued on behalf of:

Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT)

Disseminated by:
Olivia Jones Communications

For more information please contact:
Olivia Jones Communications
Cell: 083 653 1720
Email: media@oliviajones.co.za

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By The Sardine News

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21 July Sardine Report 2019

21 July Sardine Report 2019

It’s been another cracking sardine season for the sardine run operators down in the Transkei and Natal. These guys have encountered bait balls daily and have been getting some spectacular video material, which we will get to see soon enough.

To make sure we are on top of things, we headed south on sardine patrol, and have the following to report.

July Sardine Report 2019

Port St Johns

Arriving in Port St Johns, we could already feel the buzz. The Umzimvubu was looking delightfully clean and there were boats everywhere. Anglers anchored in the channels, we saw one guy boat a 12kg class Garrick and a little Kob. Sardine safari boats moored at the line of jetties, all prepared for the mornings adventures.

We visited Offshore Africa down on the river, who run sardine run trips for two months through the season. Rob Nettleton and Debbie Smith (The Shark Lady), the operators, live in Port St. Johns and are consummate professionals in what they do. They chuck you right in with the sardines and sharks!

Chatting to Richie O’Connell who leads one of the boats, “You don’t even need a baitball to find and swim with sharks. They’re everywhere!”.

Rob showed me some of this year’s footage, the cameras are dressed up with much better and wider lenses making it possible to really capture all that is going on down there. Stay posted for this material when it comes out, it is truly work of underwater art.

Through the three days we spent scouring the views around Port St. Johns, we saw lots birds running south still. Some just sitting on the water too full to fly. And the odd dive bomber as sporadic shoals moved through under the surface. But the sardine spotters travelled north and south and every day out they have jumped in with sardines. Rob was on day 33!

Mpande

Great views and nice swells greeted us here. But again, we never saw any real hot action from the shore. Lots of birds. Oil slicks from previous sorties. Crystal clear water. Very fishy looking.

21 July Sardine Report 2019
21 July Sardine Report 2019

Coffee Bay

We stayed at the pretty Coffee Shack where they installed us in the King’s House. A delightful cottage overlooking the entire bay flanked by the Sugarloaf and the Mbomvu point. Four delicious shad for breakfast.

The action was absolutely wild!

Shoals of sardines were being driven to the surface. Mainly it was dolphins but we also saw sharks breaching and some outsized yellowfin tuna. The gannets were raining down like bombs. And this was just the first shoal. They just kept coming through sporadically throughout the entire day. The huge waves, well ok 2 to 3m, were kind of keeping the action on the backline and only one occasion did they come right into the white water where they were obliterated.

  • The view from Kings House at the Coffee Shack in Coffee Bay
  • Mbomvu River Mouth
  • When the red hot pokers bloom…

Mdumbi

When we came over the hill, the vista was unexpected. Waves were reeling down the point, the sand was connecting across the entire bay! There were a bunch of guys on it but the waves were plentiful and everyone was mellow.

There were birds diving and some dolphins were hunting but the water never smelled fishy and the surf continued even better the next day. When a fabulous Berg wind kicked mid-morning and painted the prettiest surfing picture I have seen for a while. Then the huge west that is currently blowing a gale at about 40 knots hit hard and so we moved on to the other side of the river to Freedom O’ Clock to catch up a bit.

And we got to throw a little video together quick…

Get in touch via umzimkulu@gmail.com if you would like to join us for The Sardine Run next year.

Catch us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

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12 July 2019 Sardine Report

2019 Sardine Report featured image by (c) FOX

12 July 2019 Sardine Report

Sardines and surfers have been seen everywhere up and down the Natal South Coast, over the past two weeks. Outsized sea conditions have brought on the KZN winter proper! Your July 2019 Sardine Report…

A special thanks to Ant Fox for the featured image of this post – a school of dolphins enjoying the surf conditions way down south.

Many shoals (over 10 for sure) of genuine sardines have been netted. The price per crate sitting at R1300 or so. Equates to about R43 per kilo. Cheap at the price! But these are merely the so-called pilot shoals. Small pockets of sardines that break ahead of the main shoal, arriving a little earlier in the season and getting everyone warmed up.

The main shoal is reportedly still in the Transkei, making it’s way up the coast slowly. The warm water is troublesome for sardine hunters at the moment, however.

We are going to need a few days of Nor’Easter wind to chill the water back to where it was when the pilot shoals first pulled in. It’s way over 20 degrees right now, where ideal temperature for sardines to come in shallow is about 18 degrees.

At the moment a new low pressure system is kicking in. Warm Berg Winds this morning indicate the arrival of a stiff Sou’Wester later today. It’s gonna blast, and then swing around to offshore mornings with easterly afternoons. A great formula for bringing the water temperature down slowly.

Sharks

Many anglers who have taken up shark fishing from the beach and rocks, are having an absolute blast right now. Big reels. Big baits. Big fish.

Shad

Well unfortunately, DAFF and friends are not coping with the volume as sack loads of shad are leaving the beach. It is unashamed murder as some guys load 50 and more, take that load home, and return for more. This is happening at all the usual spots but Margate Pier and Splash Rock have been particularly busy lately.

Overall the shad have been on the small side.

Litter

It seems to just get worse as piles and piles of rubbish are left at all your favourite beaches. The shift in fisherman behaviour is going to be a massive requirement as it seems to be hardwired into some people that you can, in this day and age of polluted oceans, throw your trash into nature.

But, what a bad name we all get from this indolent behaviour. Please take your trash off the beach and rocks with you. You know who you are!

Surfing

The surf has been cooking the entire time with carparks packed by locals who have been waiting all year for the favourable offshore winds and strong swells. And warm winter water.

Gamefish

Whilst surfing we have encountered some huge GTs, that circled us a while and then basically obliterated a shoal of shad right next to us. Shad were flying everywhere as the huge fish pummelled them in a team effort. Better bring your elephant gun if you want to tackle these fish. Skib-oater Greg Defilippi has released two GTs over 20kgs just recently. Cannot tell you where this was unfortunately, you will have to do some searching yourself!

Whales

It is humpback highway right now on the Natal South Coast and down into the Transkei. As these beautiful mammals make their way up to the calm and warm waters of the African East coast. Where the big mommas suckle their young and avoid eager males chasing them all over the place. Great spectator fun. You can get right up close and personal with the humpbacks, there are limitations, but we can get you in amongst them safely and legally anytime. The whales have arrived in the Bazaruto waters too, and continue quite very far north. They stick around until November and even into December on occasion. The Sardine team will be busy with whales and research in October this 2019, for a few weeks.

And a word from our sponsors…

After a big day out on the ocean, there is nothing much like winding down on a sunset river cruise on the Umzimkulu River in Port Shepstone. This cool little clip was shot by Sardine correspodent Neil Campbell with his new drone…

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/hsDubs5Zo8A

Email Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com to arrange a ride. Corporates and team builders welcome.

Stay up-to-date with The Sardine News as we search daily for news of the main shoals and the marine life with them, this 2019. You can join the weekly newsletter by entering your email on https://thesardine.co.za.

The 2019 sardine report series is brought to you by the Umzimkulu Marina, MYDO Fishing Lures and The Fishing Pro Shop (Pta).

Catch us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

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Jason Heyne checks in with Spearo news weekly

Weekly Spearo report by Jason Heyne

Jason Heyne checks in with Spearo news weekly

Jason Heyne checks in with Spearo news weeklyreporting typical summer conditions and species.

Well the diving conditions this week have been tough. The sea came right today (Friday) after a few days of big swell . King and queen Mackerel are around with some big ambers out deep. Saturday the swell is minimal and the wind switches from a light south east in the morning to a light northeast in the afternoon. Sunday the swell picks up to 1.8m and the northeast freshens towards midday . Travis gets club merit fish of the week with his first cape knifejaw and Don gets fish of the week with a 17kg cracker. As always dive safe and straight spears.

Weekly Spearo report by Jason Heyne

Catch us on facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

Check out our spearfishingf offerings at this link

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