PICS: Sardines netted in Amanzimtoti

Sardines were netted in Winkelspriut on Monday. Picture by Brahmanand Outar

Sardines were netted in Winkelspriut on Monday. Picture by Brahmanand Outar

Published Jul 2, 2018

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Durban - Nearly 200 crates have been filled with sardines in Amanzimtoti on Monday. 

Licensed sardine netters made the haul just after 8am on the Foster Road beach in Winklespruit. 

Brahmanand Tony Outar said they were following the shoal closely on Monday was surprised by the huge haul they pulled out. 

On Saturday he had netted a huge shoal which filled up nearly 500 crates but the fish gave him the slip on Sunday. 

"The south coast fishing fraternity is bursting with excitement. We cannot predict when or if the shoals will reach Durban beaches. There is a great atmosphere and competition among the netters," he said. 

Outar explained that boats are launched from the surf to check for shoals swimming near the shoreline. Once a shoal has been spotted by the crew they drop nets into the water and circle the shoal. Lines to the nets are then brought ashore and the nets are hauled in by hand onto the beach sand. 

Sardines were netted in Winkelspriut on Monday. Picture by Brahmanand Outar

The Kwa-Zulu Natal Sharks Board explained in a press statement that Sardines are cold-water fish and are usually associated with areas of cold ocean upwelling, where deeper, cooler, nutrient-rich water currents surge to the surface when they strike shallow coastal areas.

Sardines are commonly found in enormous shoals on the west coasts of California, South America, Japan, Australia and, of course, southern Africa.

Sardines were netted in Winkelspriut on Monday. Picture by Brahmanand Outar

Large shoals of sardines move in a band up the coast followed by sharks, gamefish, marine mammals and birds in a feeding orgy. 

Fresh, frozen, canned, pickled or bait - whatever way you consider them, sardines (also known as pilchards) will have featured somewhere in the lives of many South Africans. 

Sardines were netted in Winkelspriut on Monday. Picture by Brahmanand Outar

Like their close relatives, the anchovies and herrings, sardines (Sardinops sagax) live out their lives in huge shoals in the surface layers of the ocean. Although these fish are small, collectively they comprise nearly a quarter of the world's fish catch by weight, making them one of our most valuable groups of fish.

Daily News

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