Good news for South Africa’s sardine mystery

South Africa’s mysterious sardine die-off appears to be easing.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has confirmed it received no further reports of dead or dying sardines in the past two weeks.

A genuinely encouraging sign after a mortality event that spread across 2,600km of coastline.

The department says this “indicates that the acute phase of the mortality event has subsided,” though officials caution it’s still too soon to declare the crisis fully over.

WHAT’S ACTUALLY BEEN CONFIRMED

The last reported incident was an isolated fresh wash-up near Mbotji, on the northern Wild Coast, on 10 September 2026.

Since then, surveillance has recorded nothing further.

Pilchard herpesvirus (PHV) remains “the strongest biological factor associated with the event,” according to the DFFE.

Laboratory testing has confirmed PHV in affected sardines from both the Western Cape and the Gqeberha area, supporting a link between the two outbreaks.

However, no conclusion has yet been reached on exactly when or how the virus began circulating in South African waters.

WHY THE DEPARTMENT ISN’T CALLING IT OVER JUST YET

Surveillance and reporting arrangements remain firmly in place.

The department continues encouraging coastal authorities, fishers and the public to report any new occurrences immediately, rather than assuming the event has fully run its course.

A key meeting is also on the calendar.

The Small Pelagic Scientific Working Group met on 29 September 2026 to consider the latest mortality reports, laboratory findings, fishing activity and catch data.

The group also advised on managing the directed sardine fishery once the current temporary catch restriction expires.

That restriction currently limits fishing right holders to landing no more than 25% of their outstanding 2026 directed sardine total.

An end-of-year hydroacoustic survey is also planned.

This will provide the first real estimate of sardine biomass and distribution following the mortality event.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR GROCERY SHOP

If you’ve been wondering whether it’s safe to keep eating sardines, the DFFE has been direct: PHV is not known to infect people, and shop-bought, canned sardines remain entirely safe.

The only caution is for anyone near the coast directly: don’t collect, eat, feed to animals, or use as bait any dead or dying sardines found on beaches.

It’s a genuinely hopeful update to a story that’s been unfolding for months now.

Here’s hoping the coming weeks confirm this really is the tail end of it, rather than just a temporary lull.

Did you follow the sardine mystery as it unfolded earlier this year?