Sardine shortage?

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PlanesTrainsAutomobiles

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Has anyone noticed this?

Our Woolies "sardine shelf" has been empty for a while now. Lucky star is still being sold.
PnP's sardines in olive oil are unavailable.

We humans have probably exhausted the supply :(
 
GROK

Yes, there is evidence of a sardine shortage (or more accurately, significantly depleted sardine stocks) in South Africa, particularly referring to the Southern African pilchard (Sardinops sagax).


This depletion has been ongoing for years and continues to be a major issue as of late 2025 and into 2026. Key points from recent reports:


  • Sardine stocks off South Africa's west coast have been chronically low since the mid-2000s, often below 25% of peak historical abundance. This has been linked to overfishing, environmental shifts (including climate change effects like warmer waters disrupting spawning), and fluctuating populations.
  • A major study published in December 2025 highlighted how collapsing sardine stocks led to catastrophic starvation in African penguin colonies (e.g., on Dassen and Robben Islands), with an estimated 60,000+ penguins dying between 2004 and 2012 due to food scarcity. This reflects long-term depletion rather than a sudden new event.
  • The famous "sardine run" (the mass migration along the east coast, especially KwaZulu-Natal) faces ongoing threats from these factors. While some years (like 2023) saw strong runs, experts warn of potential decline or even cessation in coming decades due to warming oceans and overfishing. Recent runs (2024–2025) had early movements but overall stocks are described as declining or under pressure.
  • Commercial fishing has been restricted in some areas (e.g., no-take zones around penguin colonies), but the biomass remains low, impacting ecosystems, predators like penguins, gannets, and cormorants, and potentially bait/fishing supply chains.
  • There are also anecdotal mentions of local shortages (e.g., in bait shops in KZN or repackaged stock during peak seasons), which may tie into reduced availability for anglers or consumers.

In short, it's not a complete disappearance or a brand-new crisis in 2026, but sardine populations in South African waters are severely depleted compared to historical levels, with ongoing ecological and potential supply consequences. If you're asking about availability for fishing, bait, or canned goods right now, it varies locally—some reports note scarcity in bait shops or markets during certain periods, but it's tied to these broader stock issues rather than a total absence.
 
Maybe they were fishing the sardines within 9000KM of Israel and were in trouble again like the Tomatoes with so-called charities bribing Government step in and take action 🤔:p
 
Crowley said:
Woolies cut down on their sardine budget to buy "freerange" meat for their overprices Country pies.
Click to expand...
The meat isn't free-range the eggs are ;-) the meat they don't specify
 
Lupus said:
The meat isn't free-range the eggs are ;-) the meat they don't specify
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter. They can throw any buzzwords in their marketing, and the gullible sheep will buy it.
 
I never buy the vegetable oil tins.
That's super bad for a person.

Some brands of tomato sardines does not have vegetable oil in it.
 
The fishermen weren't given any sardine quotas up until late January 2026.
There are stocks of sardines but in order to catch them the boats require permits.
There was a scandal I heard about people living in Gauteng being awarded permits, while the real fishermen had nothing down in the Western Cape, but that could be stories.

The boats out of Gansbaai who catch sardines for canning and also fishmeal, first needed to secure their permits to fish, which only came in January 2026, about 5/6 weeks ago. They then needed to secure permits to transport the fish they still haven't caught so they can truck the fish to Westpoint.

Sardine canning is all a coordinated effort that requires boats to be ready, crews on standby, permits for fish and road to be secured, fish to be available, ice and the weather to be fishable.

I can assure you that the boats have caught quite a bit of sardine since the end of January. That product will need to be put through the supply chain. Westpoint from what I understand simply put whatever label is required by the supermarket chain that buys the sardine cans.
 
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