7. Conservation & Sustainability
Krill sustainability is a global concern studied by scientists, conservationists, and governmental organizations. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is the management organization responsible for monitoring the fisheries working in the oceans around Antarctica.
Icebreaker on Antarctic waters.
A primary element of that work is in overseeing the health and size of the krill biomass and managing the fisheries that are harvesting krill. As a keystone species critical to the health of the Antarctic eco-system, it is critical that the krill fishery is conducted with the highest adherence to environmental standards and with absolute observance of catch limits.
"[Krill] remains one of the ocean’s largest known underexploited stocks."
–Dr. SephenNicol
The fishery for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is the largest by tonnage in the Southern Ocean. The catch remained relatively stable at around 120,000 ton for 17 years until 2009, but has recently increased to more than 200,000 tons. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources precautionary catch limits for this species total over 8.6 million tons so it remains one of the ocean’s largest known underexploited stocks. Recent developments in harvesting technology and in products being derived from krill indicate renewed interest in exploiting this resource. At the same time, there are changes in the Southern Ocean environment that are affecting both krill and the fishery. This paper summarizes the current state of this fishery and highlights the changes that are affecting it.
Antarctica experts
Dr Steve Nicol
A noted krill enthusiast that in more recent years has branched out into more general issues in Southern Ocean ecology. Steve Nicol has published on a wide range of krill-related issues including behaviour, physiology, ecology, biochemistry and fisheries. In recent years he has been most involved in large-scale ecological research that has a direct link to management of the krill fishery.
Dr Simeon Hill
Leads the Modelling & Integration group which is part of BAS's Ecosystems programme. Investigates how different parts of the Southern Ocean marine food web (penguins, other seabirds, seals, whales, fish, benthic invertebrates, zooplankton, phytoplankton) interact with each other and the environment (currents, water masses, ice, climate), and how they respond to external pressures (fishing and global change). read more...
Nina Jensen
Nina Jensen, MSc in marine biology, works as Conservation Director in WWF-Norway (World Wide Fund for Nature) as a Head of the Conservation Department. She has previously worked with communications and marketing for advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather, Basecamp and Edge Advertising.
Interesting Facts:
-
90%
the world's
ice
is in Antarctica -
2
inches of precipitation fall in Antarctica
each year
on average -
10
Number of
human babies
born in Antarctica
-
Summer
has
only
reached
maximum of 58F -
4,000
Average Antarctic human population
in
summer
-
98%
of Antarctica is covered by fresh water ice -
10,000
number of
eggs
a female krill lays at one time -
0
Number of
permanent
residents
in Antarctica
-
0
number of
govern-
mentsthat rule Antarctica
-
47
number of
countries
who have signed the Antarctic Treaty -
2½
the size, in inches, of the
average
krill -
Winter
temperature
can
drop
as low as
-20F -
If
Antarctica
melted,
the sea level could rise
200 feet
worldwide -
Antarctica
is the driest
continent
on Earth
(less than 2 inches of rain per year) -
Krill can go for up to
200
days
without eating
-
Krill is more than
twice
the total weight of all humans
on earth -
10
number of years krill can
live -
70%
of world's fresh water
is
frozen -
There
are no native land
mammals
in
Antarctica -
1,000
Average Antarctic human population
in
the winter
-
2,000,000
estimated
tons of krill
in a swarm -
Antarctica is
1.5 times the size
of the
United States -
29
number of
nations
that send scientists to conduct experiments in Antarctica