Thousands of sardines surface near Goa beach, experts call it a ‘rare’ phenomenon

Pernem: Thousands of sardine fishes have been surfacing near a beach in Goa for the past few days, giving the locals a sight and a chance to catch a bountiful catch. Experts said it was a “rare” phenomenon known as a ‘sardine run’.

According to people living nearby, schools of marine species are swarming in the shallow waters along the coast at Keri-Terekhol, about 40 km from Panaji on the Goa-Maharashtra border.

Local fisherman Vaman Naik (35) said sardine fish, which is either eaten fresh or preserved in cans, has been swimming near the beach every evening since Monday.

“Thousands of fish are jumping out of the water. This is a gift to the local people, who gather on the beach and collect the fish and take them home,” Naik said, adding that he had seen something like this for the first time in his life.

A video of sardines coming out of the water and people gathering to collect them has gone viral on the internet.

Dr Baban Ingole, a former researcher at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), called the marine phenomenon “very rare” and said it is usually caused by sudden changes in the temperature of the sea surface water where sardines live.

“Fall or rise in sea surface temperature can lead to migration of sardines in greater numbers and sometimes they get stuck in shallow waters as seen in the current video,” he said. He described the incident as a “sardine run”.

Ingole said fish usually travel in search of food. “When deeper water rises, it brings up nutrient-rich water, which triggers higher food production. And sardines eat fresh food called ‘phytoplankton’, the expert said.

Regarding the rarity of the event, he said, “You can also check with the fishermen. Last year such an incident was reported from Kerala.