Sardines 2023: 29 May Update

Sardines 2023: 29 May Update

Sardines 2023: 29 May Update

After such a spectacularly big start, down in Port Alfred and East London waters, reports have quietened right down. Those first shoals got obliterated by the gazillions of birds and other marine predators. Humans are way down the food chain when it comes to sardines.

We are like, last actually.

Conditions

Conditions are absolutely right for sardines to come into the beaches and bays. BUT, and its a big BUT. It is still way too early to expect any sardines to make it past the absolutely Wild Coast, just yet.

But if any did come past today in these weather and sea conditions, they would be super stoked and come play in the shore break with the sharks. The water is a rife 19 degrees. The wind is pomping from the south (they love this wind). And the ocean is on its head. These are all prerequisites to sardines coming in close and hitting the beaches.

Clean water

Is the only variable left. Is if it floods again, or if the municipalities release their shit water into the sea again like last year. This will keep those sardines well away from our coastline. Sardines (and fish in general) don’t mind the sewage so much. But it’s the chemicals, drugs, pathogens and all sorts of other evil agents that humans put down the drain – and into the estuaries, and then the sea, that the sardines don’t like.

The Kayser Beach Shoal

The Kayser Beach Shoal – so named since it was so verily active in those waters recently, is being tracked. Kevin in Qhora, the very south of the Transkei Wild Coast, is expecting his fishy little visitors tomorrow or Wednesday. As you can gather from the report. For the scoobies, ocean safari-goers and spearos, we included a viz report from the Master Watermen website run by Jason Heyne – aka The Bear.

Humpback Whales

On a far more positive note – two sightings of Humpback Whales were made today. One in Mdumbi, in the Transkei. And the other in Tofo, in Mozambique. About 2000kms away from each other, these two places always seem to get the whale action early.

Get in on an Ocean Safari with Umzimkulu Adrenalin. Stay with us at the Umzimkulu Marina (we are in the epi-centre of the KZN Sardine Run). Buy highly effective lures at MYDO Fishing Lures. And neva miss a single sardine with The Sardine News.