Gloria Dickie

LONDON, (Reuters) – A humpback Whale, probably lured by a trawling line that captures large quantities of Antarctic krill was caught last month. It died in the Southern Ocean. Last year, three juveniles died after being caught by the same company’s nets.

Scientists suspect that the Antarctic Humpbacks might have suffered from malnutrition while competing for food in a growing industry. The tiny crustaceans are the mainstay of Antarctic’s food web and could be used in fish feed or pharmaceuticals.

Aker BioMarine from Norway said that this was its first whale bycatch case in the 15 years it’s been harvesting Antarctic krill. Since then, Aker BioMarine has strengthened its vessels’ protections to ensure marine mammals are not caught in its nets.

Pål Skogrand, director of Antarctic affairs and sustainability at Aker BioMarine, said the company “has no desire” to be part of this global problem.

However, the krill market is expected to expand significantly over the next decade as countries like China and Russia make new investments. Scientists and conservationists worry that krill trawling may further threaten Antarctic wildlife.

Blue whales, fur seals, and humpbacks all have the same hunting grounds that krill trawlers. Studies have shown that penguins also struggle when they are near fishing boats. These birds often need to swim longer distances in order to find food for their chicks.

Teale Bondaroff, a conservation organization OceansAsia said that “Krill Fishing is an acute illustration of how we are fishing down our food web.” This is not good news for global fisheries. We are at the bottom of our ocean resources.

POLAR ABUNDANCE

Antarctica is home to between 300million and 500million tonnes of krill. This is almost as much as the entire world’s cattle.

This apparent abundance led Soviet fishing vessels to seek Antarctic krill. They snagged hundreds of thousands of tonnes of the fish in 1970s and then collapsed the Soviet Union in 1991.

They have made Antarctic krill more well known than the other 84 species of krill found worldwide. Because of conservation concerns, government have not allowed new krill fisheries to be opened. Japan and Canada both maintain small krill-fishing operations in the North Pacific.

From December through July, 11 vessels representing China, South Koreas, Ukraine, Chile, and Norway trawl the waters of the area’s southernmost continent. The Antarctic Treaty System stipulates that trawlers are limited to the Antarctic Peninsula and a maximum catch of 620,000 tonnes per season. This is less than 2%.

The cost of fishing and the ice cover have prevented many vessels from reaching their maximum quota. However, in 2020 they seized 450,000 tonnes — the largest haul in decades. China has more than doubled the amount it took in the past year.

Rodolfo Werner (senior advisor to the Antarctic and Southern Coalition), a coalition of non-profit environmental organizations, stated that “if we just introduce a few more large trawlers, we will reach (620,000 tonnes very easily.” We have always considered this our main concern.

Economically, the world’s krill market is small. Global Industry Analysts reported last month that there is a growing krill industry. The $531 million market for Krill Oil – one key product – is projected to grow to $941 Million by 2026.

The fastest-growing food industry in the world is fish farming. Krill is used to feed it. Analysts predict that by 2050, there will be a doubled demand.

Skogrand said that Krill contains so many positive elements such as omega-3s, and that it should not be used to feed wildlife. It’s not the right way to guarantee food production around the world.

Aker BioMarine Norway (which accounts for 60% of all krill caught today) added a third vessel to its fleet in 2019. Skogrand said that the company had “increased catches significantly over the past five- to ten years.”

Reuters reached out to Chinese companies that are involved in krill-fishing. According to the country’s fishery bureau, its krill-fishing fleets reached “international levels” last year. This was attributed to unspecified achievements in industrializing Krill Production.

The foreign ministry of China stated in a statement that China attaches great importance to Antarctica’s marine biology resources.

China “will certainly grow,” according to Dimitri Sclabos CEO, Tharos’ Chile-based Krill Consultancy. “They’ve built many factories that extract krill oils. The market is huge.

Russia plans to spend 45 billion Russian rubles (or $604 million) on the fishery. This includes building five high-tonnage, high-tonnage fishing trawlers.

Russian Federation’s policy is to develop krill-fishing as part of their efforts in renewing the Russian fishing fleet in distant areas of the global ocean,” a Russian state fishing agency stated in a written statement.

SUPPLY PRESSURE

Eight krill-fishing companies pledged in 2018 to keep at least 30km from breeding colonies for chick-rearing and incubation season. Global Fishing Watch’s monitoring agency, Global Fishing Watch, found that trawlers operating in 2019 have maintained that pledge.

Even without the competition of fisheries the krill supply faces increasing pressure because of climate change, as well as the partial rebound in whale populations since the end to commercial whaling. Geophysical Research letters published a 2016 study that showed warmer waters and more ice melting could result in krill numbers dropping around 30 percent by the end of this century.

While aboard the Antarctic Endurance on a research voyage, Bettina Meer, a marine biologist from the Alfred Wegener Institute told Reuters that there was little information available about the resiliency to climate change.

Scientists from Polar Science believe that even the current Antarctic krill fishing limits may not have enough reach to ensure wildlife food security. The West Antarctic Peninsula’s humpback whales consume as much as 3.1 tonnes per day of krill. An estimated 3000 humpbacks live in this region.

George Watters from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, directed Antarctic research. He said that seasonal fish are actually coming from a lower area than it is appropriate to calculate. A February 2020 Scientific Reports study by Watters found that penguins failed to produce as many chicks if 10% or more of their krill were removed from nearby areas.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMAR) will review revising catch limits, trawling zones and other measures to conserve the environment in October. The Commission declined to provide details about the changes. Approval is contingent on a unanimous vote of all 26 members.

Scientists worry that certain nations might object to the stricter measures. Moscow and Beijing are notable critics of attempts to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the area.

Russian state fishing agency observed the “impressive” amount of krill stocks within the region and said that any modifications would need to have scientific support. “There is not much fishing available.”

This story has been corrected to correct the name of the ship that had a researcher aboard from RV Polarstern, Antarctic Endurance.