No Sardine Deaths Reported by Authorities in Over a Week

Cape Town – The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has announced that there have been no new sardine deaths reported for over a week.

“Since Sunday, 16 August 2026, there have been no reports of new mass mortalities, indicating that the acute phase of the situation may have subsided,” the department stated on Sunday, 23 August 2026.

Despite this, the department continues to monitor and investigate the recent sardine mortality event.

“To date, around 75 sardines have been incorporated into the PHV testing program,” the department noted.

“Preliminary testing by the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and Rhodes University found pilchard herpesvirus (PHV) genetic material in all 15 fish that were examined.

“Of those, 10 fish collected during the mortality event displayed consistently elevated levels of the virus.

“The viral levels varied among the five fish that were caught alive and seemed healthy at the time of collection.”

The department revealed that the viral sequence shared a 99.7% match to a gene identified in an Australian PHV.

It also mentioned that approximately 60 more samples have undergone PHV screening.

Early results for about half of these samples show high levels of PHV.

“Confirmatory testing is ongoing, and pathological examinations of an additional 40 samples are in progress to assess whether the fish exhibit characteristic gill inflammation and damage associated with active PHV disease,” the department reported.

“Investigations into other potential causes have not shown evidence that harmful algae were the main culprit.

“Paralytic shellfish toxins were absent, while domoic acid and yessotoxin were found only at minor levels, with the highest concentrations recorded in an apparently healthy comparison sample.”

The department indicated that examinations of stomach contents and gill rinses also revealed no harmful algae at densities likely to have caused the mortality.

“Unusually cold water and low-oxygen conditions were noted in parts of the West Coast,” the department stated.

“However, these conditions were similar to those observed during the recent pelagic recruitment survey before the incident, when no dead or dying sardines were seen.”

Low oxygen levels can occur periodically along the West Coast without leading to sardine deaths of this magnitude.

The department clarified that the restriction of the mortality to sardines makes a broad environmental cause less likely, though environmental factors cannot yet be ruled out as possible stressors.

“Overall, evidence increasingly suggests that PHV is the primary explanation for the event, but its definitive role will only be established when the pathological and broader surveillance findings are available,” the department concluded.

PHV is a virus affecting fish and poses no known threat to human health.

There is no evidence to suggest that it can infect or cause illness in humans.

The department emphasized that its detection does not automatically imply that healthy sardines caught for commercial use or canned sardine products are unsafe for consumption.

A high-level task team, consisting of the department, affected municipalities, management authorities, the fishing industry, and other relevant stakeholders, convened for its first meeting and agreed on a coordinated response plan.

This plan includes enhanced surveillance and testing, clearer guidelines for disposing of dead fish, public health communication, and an evaluation of the potential impact on the sardine population.

“The public is advised to refrain from collecting, consuming, or feeding dead or dying sardines to pets,” the department cautioned.

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