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Our greatest shoal on earth is flashing across world screens
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June 17, 2009
By Barbara Cole
As the build-up to sardine fever begins, the phenomenal tale of KwaZulu-Natal's "greatest shoal on earth" is about to become even more global.
The story of the migration of the swirling shoals of silvery fish which migrate north into KZN waters pursued by millions of predators (dolphins, sharks and birds) is told in the big format documentary Wild Ocean, which has already been screened in 100 Imax theatres around the world.
Now Michael Bertram, the chief executive of South Coast Tourism, has convinced SA Tourism to back the forthcoming launch of the documentary in Japan, Korea and the US.
"Getting SA Tourism to support Wild Ocean was a coup: a watershed event," said Bert-ram at the weekend launch of the Sardine Festival.
This is an action-packed programme of activities aimed at luring thousands of tourists to the region for the forthcoming holidays when the sardines are generally expected.
Bertram said he had told SA Tourism that there had never been a better advertisement for the country than Wild Ocean.
"People often forget about the wildlife in the sea, but research has shown that more people go whale watching than go to Kruger National Park," he said.
Although the sardines have not yet put in an appearance in South Coast waters - for that, the temperature needs to drop to about 19°C - Bertram said that "when the aloes start to bloom, the sardines will start to run".
And they are blooming all over the South Coast.
Telephones at the KZN Sharks Board have been ringing off the hook with queries about the sardines.
Most of the calls come from curious tourists who are in the region for the British and Irish Lions rugby Test on Saturday.
Bertram said the Sardine Festival, coinciding as it did with the Sardine Run, would probably be the only SA Tourism-sanctioned event to be staged in 2008 during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, when the country would be focusing on football.
"That's because it is a natural phenomenon and you can't interfere with nature," Bertram said.
The Sardine Festival, which runs until July 17, is backed by South Coast Tourism, the KZN Sharks Board and Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN).
Ndabo Khoza, the chief executive of TKZN, who invited local and international tourists to visit the area to be "part of the run", said the Sardine Run and Sardine Festival boosted the economy.
Not only did people pay for accommodation and food in the area, but they also hired boats, small planes and helicopters to watch the sardines.
The media and the international marine and environmental experts were also interested in the Sardine Run.
The Sharks Board says that when the sardines approach KZN's southern-most protected beach, Port Edward, the shark safety gear - the nets and the drumlines - will be removed.
No one is more enthusiastic about the arrival of the sardines than Mike Anderson-Reade of the Sharks Board.
He has been monitoring their progress for about 30 years.
"I can't wait for them," he beamed at the Sardine Festival launch, as he told of "tens of thousands of dolphins" in a 4km shoal south of Port St John's.
To find out where the sardines are, contact the Sardine Hotline at 082 284 9495.
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