Sardine Run 2022 Sightings Map
Sardine Run 2022 Sightings Map: updated with every validated sardine sighting.
Okokokokok…if you got here via Search or something, and you are looking for the 2023 Sardine Run Sightings Map then click HERE!
ALL the news from below is from 2022!
2022
Today
5 August 2022: after a long break, things are happening again. Today at Isipingo…
Sardine Run 2022 Sightings Map
On this map, you will only see bonafide, verified sightings and in many cases backed up with photos and video. The map is populating fast!
Check out last year’s Sardine Run 2021 map to make a very cool comparison between these two years. You can find that map right HERE.
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The 2022 Sardine Run Diaries
20 July 2022: the wind has changed and is now coming from the south. It’s almost South West but its overall southerly direction has been like an airbrush on the water. It’s not quite clean yet. This takes a good few days of settling. But it’s all very promising right now.
Big shad in some places.
We took a ride to Banana Beach today and saw many, many birds acting really interested. Tomorrow might tell a whole new story.
19 July 2022: if you have infra-red goggles, you can see the shoals of sardines trying to navigate to the beach at Hibberdene in the discoloured waters. Unfortunately, these conditions are no good for netting either.
12 July 2022: the last few days have seen sporadic sardine action right up and down the coast. The fish are far out though, most likely due to the terrible water conditions inspired by those last few days of belting east winds. We need the west to blow again, to settle the sea and clean it all right up again.
8 July 2022: Scottburgh!
7 July 2022: Karridene today! A few hours ago actually…check the map for photos.
4 July 2022: Haga Haga is north of East London but slightly south of the old Transkei. And the sheer size of the shoals is what we are actually reporting today. We have our Sardine Spies jumping up and down online as they track this immense body of fish on its northward journey.
30 June 2022 11am Winkelspruit: Sardines love Winkelspruit over and over again. Definitely one of their favourite beaches along the KZN South Coast. Easily accessible to everyone, you could get down there now (11am) and still find some action. There are three nets on the beach at the time of this post.
Thanks to https://sharkspotter.com for calling this in to us.
27 June 2022: Update from Qhora Mouth. Deep in the Transkei.
“Huge shoal moved through this morning accompanied by a superpod of dolphins. Plenty gannets enjoying the feast. 2 humpback ? whales in attendance too. Too far out for pics unfortunately but I think the main shoal is imminent.”
25 June 2022 – 7 am: the sea is ok but the sardines seem to be nowhere this morning…
This time last week it was boiling!
The minute we hear something, you will be the first to know!.
23 June 2022 – 7 am: the east wind has finally abated.
The water is chilly and it has cleaned up a measure overnight. The sea is lumpy but small.
21 June 2022 4pm: Qhora Mouth update.
“A sizable shoal of sards moving past today. Loads of surface action from gannets and definitely gamefish including bonito and some huge tuna smashing at them. Some garrick have been caught down this way recently but the sea is rough and dangerous right now.” – Sardine Spy
20 June 2022 – 9am : Isipingo Beach just south of Durban has had a small net in already. Banana Beach area is seeing plenty shad and sardines.
Must be Durban main beaches next!
7am: What a weekend of sardines! A long weekend at that! Starting at Margate on Thursday, where the very first nets went in – the sardines then swam north into more nets at St. Mikes.
Then at Pumula. Hibberdene as always – they love it there too. Sardines were washing out in the big shorebreaks of the spring tide in some places.
The sharks are also here! And even some killer whales were busted chasing some poor little dolphins around the place. This very weekend.
What a recovery for the ocean! It’s getting cleaner every day and it won’t be long before we have some reports by the spearos. On the gamefish count.
The shad have eased off a bit. But you still can go get one or two for breakfast right now!
19 June 2022: Sardines LOVE Winkelspruit. It is one of their favourite beaches by far. Anyway, plenty of nets went in this very morning so if you are in the Durban area, this might be your chance.
Watch those Durban beaches next!
Margate, Uvongo, Saints, Hibberdene: These places all saw action yesterday.
Sardines were washing out on the beach at the Sandspit in Port Shepstone!
The sards stopped off at Hibberdene in the afternoon and a net went in…
Today anywhere north of these places would be a good start.
The big shoals are still coming!
Nets in at Saints, Margate…
We are on the water and will check in later today…
- water below 19 degrees – cold water is moving up the east coast, just as we need it to
- clean water – the current has kicked into full gear and is sweeping the poison soup away
- rough seas – always precede the shoals
12 June 2022: another beautiful shad-filled day down here on the SKZN coastline. With so many shad here, it can’t be long until garrick and kob start showing up in the pictures too.
The water is cleaning up more and more every day. It is still very warm, however. 23 Degrees Celsius in KZN. 19 Down in Port Elizabeth. The only area with decent confirmed sardines sighted so far.
The waiting game is on!
Port Elizabeth 10 June 2022: Large shoals of sardines moving past Port Elizabeth. Today and yesterday.
There is a wedge of cold water moving up the east coast. It has reached East London already. This is the water that the sardines have been waiting for and will follow it up the coastline.
In KZN – luckily the shad are going mad!
Go get your shad for breakfast at most beaches.
Right now!
9 June 2022 – 2PM: Qhora Mouth, Southern Transkei. A sardine spy reports…
“Currently a huge raft of sitting gannets on the water. About 1km out. Seems they are either full, confused or waiting like us. ” (
)
9 June 2022 – 9AM: shoals of red-eye sardines are the primary cause of the latest sardine disinformation outbreak. People mean well but until we get a real actual sardine in a photo or video, it ain’t them.
8 June 2022: reports of sightings of small shoals of possible sardines are peppering the social shark nets at the moment.
Nobody has yet caught, or seen, a live sardine, as of this point in the sardine run.
7 June 2022: so far today is all about false sardine news and the spreading of disinformation! There have been NO sardines netted ANYWHERE yet.
Luckily the ocean seems to be calming down. But the water is still warm at 23 degrees.
6 June 2022: Today we have positive reports of thousands of gannets heading north with intent, flying past Qhora Mouth in the very deep Transkei.
And this from one of our undercover sardine spies stationed way down south…
“Ok, just heard from Lawrence down in Mazeppa, says huge shoals close in, staying out of the current”.
This is very good news. The first confirmed sighting of larger shoals!
We also have the regular slew of Facebookers claiming sardines anywhere and everywhere – without any proof, as usual.
Just take a picture or video and post it!
Red-eye sardines, mackerel, shad, and maasbanker – all congregate along the KZN coastline in winter. Oftentimes mistaken for sardines.
A picture is worth a thousand words!
5 June 2022:
9am – WE HAVE SARDINES! Verified sightings from between East London and southern Transkei this very morning. Check the map!
7am – our inboxes here in The Sardine News studio are all ominously quiet this lovely Sunday morning. As we try to chase up any sardine news at all. We have started to broadcast on Instagram too now – @shonalanga is the handle over there.
2 June 2022: have just done the rounds gathering intel from our sardine spies way down south. There are NO sardines. YET. Lots of false rumours about Port Edward having sards already. Not true. All over again. Like last year – no end to false sardine prophets.
31 May 2022: The floods of this 2022 wet season were abominable. After all that suffering, the ocean came right for two days, and we got hit again.
By this time last year, the sardines had already been past Port Edward. And the big shoals were moving up the Wild Coast of the Transkei.
This year, we haven’t had a single sardine yet!
To get right up close and personal with the sardines and their many fans this year, drop us a line on https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za. We have boats, accommodation and a restaurant down on the Umzimkulu Estuary in Port Shepstone. Perfectly situated just northwards of the Transkei Wild Coast. And poised to strike at the first blip of a sardine on our powerful radar system of sardine spies.
Other fun apps:
Master Watermen – always know what is going on with the fish
The Port Captain – hosting an Egyptian chef team famous as Garlic n Naan in Port Shepstone
Spillers House – BnB and Backpackers on the river in Port Shepstone
The Sardine News – neva miss a single sard!
