{"id":2207764,"date":"2026-10-01T18:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2207764"},"modified":"2026-10-01T17:24:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T15:24:40","slug":"mass-sardine-die-off-pits-survival-of-south-africas-penguins-against-fishers-livelihoods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/mass-sardine-die-off-pits-survival-of-south-africas-penguins-against-fishers-livelihoods\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass sardine die-off pits survival of South Africa\u2019s penguins against fishers\u2019 livelihoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>t began on 28 July, when fishers near Saldanha Bay on the west coast of South Africa reported seeing dead sardines (also known as pilchards) floating at sea. Then, in early August, more dead sardines began washing up on beaches near Cape Town.<\/p>\n

In the weeks that followed, similar reports came in from places across a vast area spanning 2,600km (1,600 miles) of coastline, such as Henties Bay in Namibia and Mbotyi in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.<\/p>\n

Sardines, sometimes described as \u201cthe energy bars of the sea\u201d, are a key food source for seabirds \u2013 including the critically endangered African penguin, which only feeds on sardines and anchovies \u2013 seals, common dolphins and other fish. Meanwhile, the commercial sardine fishery contributes billions of rands and thousands of jobs to South Africa\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never had an event of this scale,\u201d says Dr Janet Coetzee, of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, a scientist who specialises in small pelagic fish. \u201cWe are taking it very seriously. The minister got involved from the start, establishing a high-level task team comprising local management authorities, scientists, the fishing industry and municipalities to oversee a coordinated response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dead fish were sent for testing, and pilchard herpesvirus (PHV) was quickly identified as the primary culprit. The virus is specific to sardines and is not a threat to humans or animals who eat infected fish. While the source is still to be confirmed, it is likely that it was brought to South Africa via imported frozen pilchards used by the canning industry or as bait by commercial fishers. While herpesvirus is endemic in some sardine populations, naive populations are especially vulnerable to the virus. A paper published in 2016 did not detect PHV in South African sardines and cautioned against importing frozen sardines to South Africa for precisely this reason.<\/p>\n

There is a precedent. A PHV epidemic in Oceania, probably caused by importing sardines as feed for offshore bluefin tuna farms, in 1995 (and another in 1998-99) killed up to 60% of affected populations. Eventually the Australian population developed herd immunity, but it took years for the numbers to recover.<\/p>\n

\"Piles
Dead sardines on Milnerton beach in Cape Town, South Africa, 17 August. The virus killing them has previously devastated Australian fish populations. Photograph: Gallo Images\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Against this backdrop, the South African task team met in early September to chart a way forward.<\/p>\n

A group of 12 scientists (who do not sit on the task team) representing several universities and conservation NGOs prepared a document calling for an immediate halt to commercial sardine fishing while the extent of the die-off was being assessed.<\/p>\n

The Southern African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association, meanwhile, stressed the socioeconomic consequences of a moratorium: \u201cA fishery closure would dent the South African economy by over 1.2bn rand [\u00a355m],\u201d says the association\u2019s Mike Copeland, who is on the task team. \u201cThe impact on fishers, workers and the communities where they live would be devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n

After careful consideration, says Coetzee, the task team concluded \u201cthat the available evidence didn\u2019t suggest a very large reduction in the population \u2026 We looked at what the trajectory would look like if we closed versus if we didn\u2019t close, and we didn\u2019t see much difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Alistair McInnes of BirdLife South Africa questions the evidence used to reach this decision. \u201cThe only thing we know is that the range of the die-off is extensive. We don\u2019t know how many sardines have died because most of the dead fish end up at the bottom of the ocean. But we do know that a similar event in Australia was devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n

McInnes and many other conservationists believe that the only responsible action is to pause fishing until the results of an annual hydroacoustic biomass survey are received. This survey, which takes place every October and November, is used to establish quotas for the next year\u2019s fishing season, which opens on 15 January.<\/p>\n

\"A
A colony of critically endangered African penguins at Boulders beach near Cape Town, on November 2024. Photograph: Rodger Bosch\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McInnes is especially concerned about what happens when African penguins start to moult in October, a process that continues until February. \u201cThere is a strong link between penguin survival and sardine biomass,\u201d he says. \u201cOf course I can appreciate the socioeconomic impacts of a closure, but the impacts of a fishery collapse \u2013 as has happened in California and Namibia \u2013 would be even worse. It doesn\u2019t seem worth the risk for a few months of fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Coetzee acknowledges that the only way to gauge the extent of the problem is to wait for the results of the biomass survey, she is adamant that the government\u2019s approach has been cautious. \u201cThe temporary restriction was all about buying time. It stops rights holders from rushing out and catching as much as they can. We\u2019ve also made it clear that come 2 October there is no guarantee that fishing will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tensions between conservationists and the fishing industry are nothing new. In March 2025, the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement pertaining to no-catch zones near penguin breeding colonies.<\/p>\n

Despite the current disagreement, both sides have been brought together by a common hope that PHV mortality rates seen in Australia are not replicated in South Africa. The bioacoustics survey results are released in early December, when all will be revealed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This article <\/a>by Nick Dall was first published by The Guardian on 24 September 2026. Lead Image: African penguins, which feed only on sardines and anchovies, are particularly at risk if the fish populations fall. Photograph: Mike Korostelev\/Getty Images.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Protect Wildlife Before It\u2019s Too Late<\/h2>\n

Whether you choose to make a one-time gift or a monthly subscription, you provide the critical funding needed to protect wildlife.<\/p>\n

Your immediate support makes a life-saving difference.<\/p>\n

\n