Krill fishery in Antarctica shut down after record catch triggers
unprecedented early closure
[August 06, 2025] By
JOSHUA GOODMAN
MIAMI (AP) — Officials have shut down early the remote krill fishery
near Antarctica after trawling for the tiny crustacean — a vital food
source for whales that also helps fight climate change — exceeded the
seasonal catch limit for the first time.
The unprecedented early closure of the fishery follows a report by The
Associated Press last week detailing a record surge in the krill catch
after a longstanding conservation framework was allowed to lapse with no
plan in place to handle growing pressures in the world's southernmost
fishery.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living
Resources, or CCAMLR, the international organization that manages the
fishery, declined to comment but confirmed the closure earlier this
month of the 2024-25 season, which should have extended until December,
after fishing hit the 620,000 metric ton limit.
The U.S., Russia, China and two dozen other governments last year failed
to approve a new management plan that would have mandated spreading out
the area in which krill can be caught and create a California-sized
reserve along the environmentally sensitive Antarctic Peninsula.
In the absence of a deal, industrial trawlers were allowed this season
to essentially fish anywhere at any time, including in smaller habitats
preferred by whales, penguins and seals. In one hot spot, the catch
through June 30 was nearly 60% higher than all of last season’s haul,
according to an internal CCAMLR report obtained by the AP.
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In this photo provided by Sea Shepherd, a whale swims near the krill
trawler Fu Xing Hai with mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula in the
background, on April 2, 2025. (Youenn Kerdavid/Sea Shepherd via AP)
 Krill is one of the most abundant
marine species in the world, with an estimated biomass of 63 million
metric tons. But advances in fishing, climate change and growing
demand for krill’s Omega-3 rich oil – for fishmeal, pet food and
human dietary supplements — have increased pressure on the krill
stocks. In the 2023-24 season, a fleet of 12 trawlers from mostly
Norway and China caught 498,350 tons of krill — until now the
largest harvest since CCAMLR began collecting catch data in 1973.
Underscoring the competition between humans and whales, three
humpback whales were found dead or seriously injured last year in
the long, cylindrical nets deployed by the vessels to vacuum up the
paper-clip sized crustacean.
Krill aren’t just vital to marine ecosystems. Increasingly,
researchers are focusing on their role as a bulwark against climate
change. One peer-reviewed study found that krill remove from the
atmosphere and store in the ocean 20 million tons of carbon
annually. That’s the equivalent of taking off the road 5 million
cars every year.
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