The sardines have skipped Durban’s main beaches yet again, the Natal Sharks Board said on Wednesday.
Chief executive Mike Anderson-Reade said not a single sardine had been seen on Durban’s coastline this year.
He said there had been activity in the Eastern Cape waters on Tuesday but that there was nothing in KwaZulu-Natal.
Early in June, sardines were netted on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast and were last seen in Amanzimtoti in the Durban south vicinity.
Anderson-Reade said the floods on the KZN South Coast nearly two weeks ago had disrupted the activity.
”The flash floods put a spin on things. All the dirty water and debris came down and being filter feeders, the sardines would not come in,” he said.
”It created a barrier between the sardines and us.”
The floods claimed 16 lives and left thousands displaced. Homes were destroyed, bridges collapsed, cars with occupants inside were washed
away, trees were uprooted and train lines were damaged.
The Durban Weather Bureau said it was one of the worst downpours ever recorded in the province.
And, although many believe this was the second year the sardines had not appeared in Durban, Anderson-Reade pointed out it that it was in fact the third consecutive year.
”The last time the sardines came out on Durban’s main beaches was in 2005.
”But we cannot second guess nature … it’s just nature. We can only hope the sardines will come next year,” he said. – Sapa