Wild Ocean 3D Page #2

will be among

the first to find them.

The nets, that have

been dettering sharks

from the

KwaZulu Natal beaches

are being removed,

in anticipation of

the approaching shoals.

Too many predators

could be trapped

if the nets were to remain.

It is here, that

the earliest evidence

of man's relationship with

the sea has been discovered.

As the fishermen wait for

the arrival of the sardines,

these women collect

shellfish from rock pools,

in a tradition

that we now know,

dates back over

a 160.000 years.

Every cold front that

arrives from the south

brings with it cooler air,

and colder water,

drawing the sardines

further and further north.

Traveling alongside them

is another winter visitor...

Humpback whales head

northwards like steam trains

towards their

winter breeding grounds

in the warm

waters of Mozambique.

Whilst their arrival coincides

with the sardine shoals,

perhaps they are

more spectators

than participants

in this annual event.

Breaching is a common

site from the shoreline

at this time of year

...as the grand procession

of hundreds of Humpbacks

proceeds northwards.

Dawn on the

KwaZulu Natal coast.

As the dolphins and gannets track

down the shoals out at sea,

the people here are

still watching, still waiting

Every winter storm disrupts

the mild South African climate,

with cold currents carrying the

sardines further and further north

and warm currents pushing them

closer and closer to the shore.

The predators sense

a change in the ocean,

in its temperature, in the

presence of plankton.

In the oil secreted

by advancing shoals

and possibly even in the arrival

of other predatory

species in the region.

The sharks may have

taken the pilot shoals,

but now, all the Wild Coast's

predators are on the move.

Gannets take to the air in

greater numbers than ever.

They can dive from

as high as 100 feet,

and plunge as deep as 30.

They can hit the water at

speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.

The dolphins are

searching for the shoals,

pods joining together

to form superpods.

They gather momentum,

and prepare to charge.

Throughout the 20th century,

sardine shoals were so huge

that millions of them would be

sidetracked into the shallows

where they were taken in nets,

buckets, even upturned skirts.

This is what became

known as the "Sardine Run."

In recent years, sardines have been

reaching the northern beaches

in fewer and fewer numbers.

As the ocean temperatures rise,

the conditions will be

less favorable for the shoals

to approach the shallows.

As the ocean changes,

their behavior

will also change.

Further south, however,

on the Wild Coast,

there is still an

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