CCN Reporter – George April
West Coast:- Authorities have been investigating widespread reports of dead and dying pelagic fish (mainly sardines, but other species too) along the Western Cape coast, stretching from Saldanha Bay on the West Coast eastwards to Gansbaai.
The event involved fish washing ashore and floating at the surface, observed from inshore waters out to roughly 80 km offshore.
– Reports of new dead/dying sardines stopped coming in after Thursday 6 August 2026, so the mortality event appears to have eased or run its course.
– The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is still running a broad investigation with research institutions, labs and the fishing industry. Samples were taken from Saldanha Bay, Hout Bay, Betty’s Bay, Gansbaai, the Cape Canyon area, plus healthy comparison samples from Elands Bay and Lambert’s Bay.
– A harmful algal bloom (“Alexandrium catenella”) was present in Saldanha Bay around the start of the event (the same species linked to previous local sardine mortalities and to paralytic shellfish toxins). Oceanographic data also showed enhanced upwelling, unusually cold nearshore water and low oxygen levels in St Helena Bay beforehand. A southward coastal current may have moved affected fish further along the coast. None of this has been confirmed as the definitive cause yet.
– West Coast canneries are still accepting healthy sardines caught north of St Helena Bay. Some factories in affected areas are waiting for test results before resuming.
– Public advice remains: do not collect or eat any dead fish found on beaches.
West Coast National Park wildflower season is open
SANParks has opened the 2026 Wildflower Season at West Coast National Park (near Langebaan) from 1 August to 30 September 2026. The iconic Postberg section is accessible during this period and is already drawing visitors for the spring floral displays (daisies and other species). Timing and intensity depend on weather, but early blooms have been noted.
Other background context still relevant to the West Coast
– An indefinite ban on harvesting/consuming wild shellfish from Saldanha Bay and surrounds (due to elevated paralytic shellfish toxins from algal blooms) was already in place earlier; aquaculture operations had paused.
– Ongoing environmental debates around proposed large-scale green hydrogen / eSAF projects inland from Langebaan / Hopefield and various mining/prospecting applications continue to feature in local advocacy (e.g. Protect the West Coast updates).
The sardine die-off update is the clearest breaking/local angle right now, followed by the wildflower season as a lighter positive story.
