July in the balmy port city of Durban means more than high society and horse racing – it is also the time of year when millions of pilchards appear along the coastline, working their way up the East coast on the annual sardine run. Anyone who has ever operated a shipping agency Durban or boarded a sea freight in the city’s famous harbour will tell you that the sardine run is a truly awesome sight to behold. The silvery shoals can exceed a whopping 7 km in length and 1.5 km wide!

However, this year the sardine run was uncharacteristically late. While the silver schooling fish are expected to make their migration between May and July, this year the first sardines only made an appearance on July 21. The yearly sardine run along the coast of South Africa is a much-admired but little-understood phenomenon. It seems that conditions such as water temperature must be just right in order for the fish to begin the migration, and some environmentalists blame climate change for the tardiness of this year’s sardines.

This isn’t the first time in recent years that the annual sardine run has differed from normal. In both 2003 and 2006  the sardines failed to make the run at all, which had a significant impact on Durban’s tourism. It also affected the fishing industry and the marine life that relies on the sardine run for sustenance.

The waters around Durban are currently teeming with fish on the belated sardine run, and while huge numbers of dolphins, whales, sea birds and sharks are attracted to the shoals for a feeding frenzy, bathing on the local beaches has been temporarily banned. The sardine run seems to be progressing slower this year as well – the sardines are spending an unusually long time in the Durban waters, and biologists are baffled. However, a prolonged sardine run will certainly be healthy for Durban tourism, and the local sharks are reportedly loving the all-you-can-eat buffet!