| Every year during the winter months of June and July | | | | that when they create shoals more than a million |
| in South Africa, one of natures greatest events take | | | | strong that predators are soon on their trail. Under the |
| place. Millions of little sardines abandon their spawning | | | | water, the shoals of sardine are mercilessly pursued |
| waters of the Agulhas Bank located in the southern | | | | by sharks, tuna, dolphin and even whales. As they |
| waters of South Africa where the cold Atlantic Ocean | | | | come under attack, the little fish form defensive |
| and warm Indian Ocean meet. It is the coming together | | | | bait-balls but it is little protection as time and again, the |
| of these two oceans that make the waters ideal | | | | predators hit the bait-balls, taking a few of the little fish |
| spawning grounds as they are rich in nutrients. | | | | with each attack. |
| The exact reasons why the sardine migrate away | | | | There are so many sardines and predators in the |
| from such nutrient rich waters aren't known but they | | | | water during the Sardine Run that the Natal Shark |
| thrive in water temperatures of around 20 Celsius. As | | | | Board remove the shark nets that usually protect the |
| the winter waters of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu | | | | beaches to prevent the sharks, dolphins and other |
| Natal cool, it is believed the sardines take advantage | | | | large sea creatures from getting caught up and dying. |
| of their expanding territory and head northwards up | | | | As the shoals come under attack, they are forced into |
| the South Africa coast. Measuring up to around 9 | | | | shallower waters where they start to come under |
| inches in length, these little fish travel in massive shoals | | | | attack from the air as the sardine come within diving |
| clearly visible from the surface of the ocean. The | | | | depth of gannets who join in the bountiful feast that |
| shoals can be several kilometres long and up to a | | | | nature has provided. Humans get in on the act too. As |
| kilometre wide so in terms on numbers, they easily rival | | | | the shoals move to try to escape the caravan of |
| Africa's other famous migration of the wildebeest as | | | | predators, they move into shallow waters small fishing |
| they head north from the Serengeti into the Masai | | | | boats move in the fish are literally dragged ashore by |
| Mara. | | | | crowds of waiting people. As well as the fishing nets |
| The Sardine Run is a big event of the Eastern Cape | | | | all sorts of containers are used to scoop up the |
| and KwaZulu Natal. As sardines are pretty much at | | | | sardines by people trying to gather as many as they |
| the bottom of the food chain, it isn't much of a surprise | | | | can carry. |