Overview
- The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment opened an investigation and said diagnostic testing began on Monday, Aug. 3, to determine why large numbers of sardines died along the coast.
- Reports and images show strandings and floating carcasses from Saldanha Bay to Gansbaai, with fish also seen drifting as far as eight nautical miles offshore near Hout Bay.
- Investigators collected samples at Saldanha Bay and deployed scientific observers on fishing vessels to map the mortality and gather biological and environmental data.
- Authorities will test for harmful algal bloom toxins, infectious disease and changes in water quality, and they have urged people not to collect, touch or eat any dead or dying fish.
- The die-off could affect local fishers and coastal communities and may have short-term ecological impacts on small pelagic food webs while officials await lab results.