Home

Annual Wild Coast sardine run a gold mine: Environmentalist

Reading Time: 2 minutes

International tourists have converged along the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast for the annual sardine run as well as the Hamburg whale run.

Sardines, Shark and Whale diving are always held between the months of May and July. The Sardine Run is the movement of billions of sardines due to the cool waters of the Agulhas current along the country’s east coast.

Sardine Run specialist in Port St Johns, Debbie Smith says this movement attracts predators like sharks and birds, and also coincides with a whale run.

Smith said, “It’s Annual Sardine Run, it’s also the Annual Hamberg Whale migration because of the longest coastline as well goes past to warmer waters, so people from around the world they are coming to see the sardines run, the predators follow the Sardine run, the Dolphins, the Sharks, the Bashin Birds.”

“They are coming to see the whales as well as the annual migration of whales that go pass here, it’s a combination of the all the marine life in one place at the same time, that is what they are coming here for, added Smith.

An environmentalist from Port St Johns, John Castello has urged the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to utilise the earning potential of the ocean economy, especially at the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape.

Costello’s pointed out that the annual Sardine Run, now under way, attracts many tourists and global film and TV companies to the area.

“The whole department of Environment or Tourism is sitting on a Gold Mine, all of the international and the national films that have been made here, we have BBC down here, we have Animal Planet, we have Discovery Channel, we have all the major Televisions coming here and doing shows which are an hour or plus and this get showed internationally,” said Costello.

He said,“Now if the department of Tourism could buy, had to buy that sort of advertising it would cost them multi-multi thousands of rands and they are getting it for free but nobody seems to be harvesting all these wonderful advertising material and using it.”

Author

MOST READ