Sardine run arrives at Port Edward with bumper catch
Govender said that although sardines have arrived earlier than usual over the past seven years, this year's run has returned to its more traditional timing in July.
The long-awaited sardine run has finally reached Port Edward, where netters hauled in hundreds of crates of the prized fish on Monday morning after weeks of anticipation.
Among those celebrating the arrival was third-generation sardine netter Jace Govender, known as the “Sardine Whisperer”, who described the catch as one of the largest so far this season.
There was a large number of fish that arrived this morning.
“In the first haul we netted 500 crates, then another 120 crates and then 80 crates. We left Durban at 4am and got to Port Edward at 6am. There were seven other netting teams out this morning,” said Govender.
Govender said that although sardines have arrived earlier than usual over the past seven years, this year’s run has returned to its more traditional timing in July.
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“Sardines travel towards Durban in search of warmer water where they spawn before returning south. Their preferred water temperature is between 19 and 21 degrees. Sardines have a short lifespan of only two to three years and only 0.1% of the fish that migrate are actually netted,” he said.
Demetrios Stamatis of Adcan Marine said the start of the season had been difficult after rough sea conditions resulted in the loss of three nets during earlier attempts to catch the fish.
“On the first day, two nets were lost in Port Edward because the sea was very rough, and another net was lost during a separate incident,” said Stamatis.
He said the price of sardines would fluctuate depending on the size of the catches.
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Currently a crate is selling for about R600.
“The price depends on how many fish are caught. If there is a large volume of sardines, the price will come down,” he said.
Govender said the shoals are expected to continue moving north along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline towards Durban during the week.
However, he said the progress of the run could be affected by the cold front forecast to reach the province between Friday and Saturday.
