'Greatest shoal on Earth' runs late

TimesLive (South Africa): 'Greatest shoal on Earth' runs late

DURBAN'S annual sardine run may arrive a little late this year, the Natal Sharks Board said yesterday.

"We expect the sardine run in the next couple of weeks, maybe in the third week of June," the board's CEO, Mike Anderson-Reade, said.

"It seems like they will be late this year."

Anderson-Reade said he would be flying to East London this week to check on the activity of the "greatest shoal on Earth".

"I plan to fly on Tuesday to see where the fish are but only if the weather is good. There's no use going if the wind is howling," he said.

The Natal Sharks Board makes regular flights along the coast to track the progress of the shoals and to let the public know where the sardines are most likely to beach or be netted.

The sardine run, which generally takes place around June and July, has been a popular event in KwaZulu-Natal for many years.

Last year, sardine shoals began arriving on the province's coastline in mid-July. Swimming in the ocean was banned for almost a month. - Sapa