Krill catch in Antarctica soars to record following collapse of
conservation deal
[July 29, 2025] By
JOSHUA GOODMAN
MIAMI (AP) — Trawling near Antarctica for krill — a crustacean central
to the diet of whales and a critical buffer to global warming — has
surged to a record and is fast approaching a never before reached
seasonal catch limit that would trigger the unprecedented early closure
of the remote fishery, The Associated Press has learned.
The fishing boom follows the failure last year of the U.S., Russia,
China and two dozen other governments to approve a new management plan
that would have mandated spreading out the area in which krill can be
caught and creating a California-sized reserve along the environmentally
sensitive Antarctic Peninsula.
In the first seven months of the 2024-25 season, krill fishing in
Antarctica reached 518,568 tons, about 84% of the 620,000-ton limit
that, once reached, will force the fishery to automatically close. In
one hot spot, the catch through June 30 was nearly 60% higher than all
of last year’s haul, according to a report from the Commission for the
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, the
international organization that manages the world's southernmost
fishery.
The report, which has not been publicly released and CCAMLR said
contains confidential data, was shared with The AP by someone concerned
about overfishing in Antarctica on the condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to release the information.
“The vast majority of the krill take is from an increasingly smaller
area,” said Capt. Peter Hammarstedt, campaign director for conservation
group Sea Shepherd Global, which this year made its third voyage to
Antarctica to document the fishery. “It’s the equivalent of a hunter
saying that they’re only killing 1% of the U.S.’ deer population but
leaving out that all of the deer were shot in Rhode Island.”
Threat from climate change, advances in fishing
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
industrial 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.
AP journalists traveled to the icy waters around Antarctica in 2023 and
observed how factory ships trawl in close proximity to whales whose
numbers are still recovering from a century of industrial culling that
nearly drove them to extinction.
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.
Officials have been negotiating for years a new management plan that
would balance the growing market for krill with calls for greater
protection of the Antarctic Peninsula, the continent's northernmost
point and an area teeming with whales and, increasingly, tourists.
Currently, less than 5% of the Southern Ocean is protected — well behind
CCAMLR’s target and a United Nations goal to preserve 30% of the world’s
oceans by 2030.
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In this photo provided by Sea Shepherd, a whale swims near the krill
trawler Fu Xing Hai near the Antarctic Peninsula, on April 9, 2025.
(Youenn Kerdavid/Sea Shepherd via AP)
But a tentative deal fell apart at
last year’s CCAMLR meeting over a last minute proposal by the United
Kingdom and Australia for an even lower catch limit than the one
agreed to during talks, AP reported last year. China, objecting to
the persistent Western demands, then withdrew its support for the
marine reserve and refused to renew the existing management system.
“The truth was it was the UK,” Matts Johansen, chief executive of
Norway's Aker BioMarine, the world's largest supplier of krill-based
products, said at the United Nations Oceans conference in June.
“Just a couple days before the vote, the UK threw another suggestion
and that's when the Chinese backed off.”
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office rejected that
characterization and said the British government continues to push
for a krill management strategy that better safeguards Antarctic
marine species and vulnerable ecosystems.
Catch limit restrictions expire
In the absence of a deal, restrictions adopted 15 years ago to
spread out the catch limit expired, allowing the krill fleet to
essentially fish anywhere at any time, including in smaller habitats
preferred by whales and other animals such as penguins and seals.
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 last year 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.
CCAMLR declined to comment on the report obtained by the AP.
Ship tracking data analyzed by Global Fishing Watch at the request
of the AP also showed a higher concentration of trawling. Activity
in one popular fishing ground, denoted Sub-Area 48.1, appears to
have more than doubled so far this season compared to the entire
2023-2024 season, according to the the U.S.-based group, which
supports sustainable fishing.
Javier Arata, the executive director the Association of Responsible
Krill harvesting companies, whose members are responsible for 95% of
the krill taken from Antarctica, said the catch limit that lapsed
was always intended as an interim measure.
His group supports the creation of marine protected areas in
Antarctica. But it rejects waiting for a conservation deal to adopt
“ready-to-go measures” raising the quota, which he said can be much
higher.
“The failure to advance management was political, not scientific,”
he said.
The current fishing levels, although higher than previous limits,
remain sustainable and reflect the consensus recommendation of
scientists before last year’s deal fell apart, Arata added.
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