Govt probing death of sardines along WC coast
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) announced that it is investigating reports of dead and dying sardines at several locations along the Western Cape coast.
The departmental spokesperson, Zolile Nqayi, said they have received reports of fish washing ashore and floating from Saldanha Bay to Gansbaai.
"The first fish samples were collected off Saldanha Bay on Saturday, 1 August 2026, with the assistance of the fishing vessel Shivon," said Nqayi.
"Scientific observers have also been deployed aboard purse-seine fishing vessels to collect further information on the distribution and extent of the mortality."
The department said they are still investigating the cause for these deaths.
The head of research at Dyer Island Conservation, Dr Loraine Shuttleworth, said they have also noticed dead sardines floating in the water off the coast of the Western Cape.
Govt probing death of sardines along WC coasthttps://t.co/AFYKAEFHLj pic.twitter.com/xH8Sj2sNlc
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Shuttleworth said this was not a normal occurrence but should not cause too much concern at the moment.
"So, there's a number of reasons that could cause it, which could be anything from temperature that causes a hypoxic event, it could be a red tide, although there haven't been red tides reported along the entirety of the area," said Shuttleworth.
"We are sending a few samples outside to test it, but it's difficult to say at this time."
She said it shouldn't be a major problem for fisheries but it is a concern for Dyer Island Conservation.
"Our concern is because we have Dyer Island very close to us in Gansbaai and on the island, we have a population of critically endangered African penguins."
"So, for us, the concern is their food supply, which is the sardines."
She warned people to stay away from any dead animal that washed ashore simply because the cause of death is unknown.
"Don't touch it, don't pick it up, definitely don't eat it."
Shuttleworth called on people to report any dead animals, as their research depends on reports.
"We can't be all over the place on the ground at all times. So, without members of the public reporting and saying this seems strange, it's very difficult for us to say, oh, this is an odd phenomenon or something like that.
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