Where Are the Sardines? 12 July 2026 Update.

Where Are the Sardines? 12 July 2026 Update

Where Are the Sardines? The last shoal we tracked was off Coffee Bay on July 10th, when Steve from Wildview and Karl from Rock Coffee Café sent in video reports. It was a massive biomass, but the fish were holding deep, scattered, and strangely without the usual predator pressure to drive them inshore. The Sardine News team saw the same pattern two weeks ago — plenty of fish, but spread out, with only the occasional baitball hinting at the drama beneath the surface.

Now, with a mild cold front and big swell pushing through right up and down the coast, hopes are high that the predators have finally arrived to herd those Coffee Bay sardines northward at speed.

Rumours are already swirling. Word in the parking lot this morning suggested possible sardine activity at GweGwe, not far from Port Edward. If true, the shoal is about to meet the netting crews stationed there, before trickling up toward Durban.

The sardines netted earlier on the KZN South Coast remain the ones everyone is counting on. They could pop up anywhere, anytime. Despite the heavy surf, the netters are on standby, waiting for that one electrifying call: “Sardines!”

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Website: thesardine.co.za — download it as an app, enable notifications, and get updates straight to your phone.
Free Sardine Run 2026 Sightings Map available online.

And more…

Sardines and Sighting Maps

Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps. With instructions on how to install The Sardine News right on your phone, tablet, or even desktop.

YouTube 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 – fishing, charters, accommodation
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 are out there
brucifire.co.za – surf retorts
fishmad.co.za – destination Madagascar
andantelodge.co.za – Transit luxury in Pretoria
destinycottage.co.za – Mbotyi dreams