Antarctic Krill

I’ve written about Antarctic krill before, just around World Krill Day in 2022, and three years on, the international community is not much closer to protecting krill for krill’s sake, for ecosystem’s sake, for climate regulation‘s and all of our sake…

In the meantime, the film Ocean highlighted the perils of krill fishing in Antarctica to a broad audience, the conservation action group Sea Shepherd released a series of videos that show the contrast between a beautifully balanced ecosystem that is completely reliant on plankton and krill and industrial scale krill fishing.

‘Our First Days in Antarctica’s Krill Warzone‘ reminds me of my own first encounter with a whale at sea and my emotional response – my face lit up with pure joy and at the same time I felt like I was going to cry. And I agree, Antarctica is so precious for its own sake of just being and for its role in global climate regulation that we should let the ecosystem just function as it natural ment to.

‘Sea Shepherd Operation Antarctica 2‘ exposes the krill fishing activities that are termed ‘sustainable’ by the industry, but are actually destructive. It spells out the ‘greenwashing’ associated with some of the sustainability labels slapped onto consumer products that we are offered in shops and online.

‘Breaking Point‘ highlights the etheral beauty of Antarctica, our history that pushed the great whales to the brink of extinction and the fact that now, we are doing the same with krill fishing, that has the capacity to wipe out the whole of the Antarctic ecosystem. Scientists on board Sea Shepherd vessel report how whales response to the fishing fleet that invade their feeding grounds. Feeding grounds that are essential for whales to fatten up before their long migration north, to their breeding grounds, sustaining females through months of feeding their young before returning.

‘Inside Antarctica’s Hidden Krill Offload – Transshipment Exposed‘ sends shivers down my spine as it reports the presence of oil tankers in Antarctica for the refuelling of the industrial fishing fleet at sea. Think of the consequences of an oils spill in these waters! It is an ‘accident’ waiting to happen.

Krill is not only endangered by fishing, but also vulnerable to changes in carbon dioxide concentrations, ocean acidity and temperature in Antarctica and sensitive to changes in sea ice cover. ‘What is krill? The secret life of whale food‘ is a fascinating window into krill research.

The BBC’s ‘Whale Hunting Krill in Antarcica‘ provides additional insights how scientists use tourist ships to learn more about humpback whales, their feeding habits and reproductive status. Threats to whales arise not only from krill fishing, but also from noise pollution, ship strikes, pollution and the depletion of their food source in Antarctica from the warming of the southern ocean and sea ice. But it also shows the beauty of these majestic animals and their social behaviour when they are not disturbed by the fishing fleet or tourist ships.

The Antarctic Treaty has been signed by a mere 58 nations and states that Antarctica should only be used for peaceful purpose only. What strikes me is that fishing in Antarctica is against the spirit of the Antarktic Treaty, it is not peaceful at all, it is war on an ecosystem the whole planet depends on.

Please join the Sea Shepherd campaign to stop krill fishing in Antarctica: https://act.our-antarctica.com/act/antarctica-unga

Featured Image: Antarctic Krill. Part of the image “Antarktický krill” by Norkrill is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0  Creative Commons.