Is the harvesting of krill in the Southern Ocean worthy of “sustainable fishery” certification, or an imminent disaster?

Sea Shepherd report (edited version, see full version), 17th April 2013:
“The industrial smoke stacks have arrived to the Antarctic Peninsula. The area famous for its scenic, rugged landscapes and abundant South Polar wildlife has become the target for the trawlers and factory ships of the growing krill fisheries.

“Many people think of Krill as microscopic creatures, but in fact, each individual can grow to 5 cm in length and live up to 7 years. They form the zooplanktonzooplankton Zooplankton form the group of tiny animals such as minuscule jellyfish and rotifers present in the marine environment. They are a major source of food for those higher up the food chain, and their numbers relate directly as a good indicator to the nutrient enrichment of the sea of the area. Note: phytoplankton are microscopic plants, and zooplankton are microscopic animals.. In an ocean with relatively few fish, they occupy the niche that schooling fish fill in other oceans as a keystone species. They feed on phytoplanktonphytoplankton Microscopic marine plants, usually algae. These microscopic plants are at the base of the food chain, and are the food of zooplankton (microscopic marine animals). Note: phytoplankton are microscopic plants, and zooplankton are microscopic animals. that blooms in the nutrient-rich, deep-water upwellings at the Antarctic Convergence during the 24-hour southern summer sunlight. Krill is said to be the largest biomassbiomass The amount of living matter. This is therefore a different measure to numbers of organisms. So, for example, there is much more biomass in 1 elephant than there is in 1000 fleas and there may be more biomass in 100 large cod than you would find in 150 small (because of over fishing) cod. on the planet, outweighing the human population of the world.

“On 17th March, 2013 we found the Krill fishing vessel Antarctic Sea, as seen in the accompanying photos, fishing and processing, billowing huge white plumes into the pure Antarctic air, in position 63-44.7S 060-18.6W, where the Gilbert and Orleans Straits meet east of Trinity Island. The 134-meter, 9432 gross tonnage ship, formerly named Thorshovdi and still licensed under that name, is owned by the Norwegian company Aker BioMarine. The last time I saw a factory ship of this size in Antarctic waters was on board the SSS Steve Irwin chasing the Japanese whale poacher’s mother ship Nisshin Maru out of the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.

BioMarine’s Krill Fishing and Processing Factory Ship
Photo: Erwin Vermeulen / Sea Shepherd

“A little bit further, the Republic of Korea vessel ‘Adventure’ was after the same thing. And they are not alone. There are two Polish vessels, the Alina and Sirius, two other Norwegians, the Juvel and the Saga Sea, two other Koreans, the Kwang Ja Ho and the Insung Ho, two more Chinese, the Fu Rong Hai and the Lian Xing Hai, and the Chilenean vessel Betanzos, all after Euphausia superba. They are all licensed from 1st December of 2012 to 30th November of 2013, for basically the entire South Atlantic Ocean South of 50 degrees, excluding the ice-clogged Weddell Sea.

“During the 1970s and early 80s, the first Krill fisheries were dominated by the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Japan. With the fall of communism, the catches declined from a maximum of 500,000 tons to 100,000 tons a year, mainly taken by Japan. In 2004, Japan dropped out, but Korea, Norway and China stepped in and the catches rose again to 210,000 tons in 2009/10, 178.000 tons were caught in 2010/11 and 157.000 tons in 2011/12. Norway took 101,000 tons of that last season’s total, the majority for Aker BioMarine.

“This new acquisition demonstrates we are in the Krill fishery for the long term” said Aker BioMarine when they purchased the Antarctic Sea in October 2011. It began ‘harvesting’ in June 2012. Soon after, it received Marine Stewardship Council certification just as sister ship Saga Sea and the company was embraced by WWF Norway. According to MSC, its eco-label is built upon three basic principles: the health of the stock, the environmental impact of the fishery and traceability.

“The processed Krill is mainly used to feed farmed fish. Fish farming has many well-documented problems: pollution of the fish farm locations, spreading of diseases and parasites to wild populations, higher contaminant levels than wild-caught fish, escaping non-native fish, the horrible living circumstances of the fish equalling the worst in factory farming, fish predators, like seals and sea lions, killed for being attracted to the fish farms and especially the wastefulness of catching fish (and in this case Krill), to feed other fish, to feed people. So there is a huge, indirect, negative environmental impact of the Krill fishery. Another application for Krill is in dog food. Will there come a time when our pets consume more Krill than the world’s whales, like our factory farmed animals consume more fish than the world’s sharks?

“So how can a fishery that is at its core a fishmeal/fish oil like fishery, a fishery that is a cattle feed, farmed fish-feed and pet food fishery, deserve an eco label? Even if it would fall technically within the MSC guidelines, isn’t there something morally wrong with this?

A Gentoo penguin feeds krill to its chick
Photo: Erwin Vermeulen / Sea Shepherd

“Reproductive failure in Krill as a result of dwindling sea ice is a real risk and will result in breeding failure in birds and seals. Some of these effects are already visible. According to one 2004 estimate, based on data covering 40 Antarctic summers, the amount of Krill in the Southern Ocean may have dropped by 80% since the 1970s. This makes the MSC health of stock assessment questionable to say the least.

“The area where we found the krill fishing vessels was incredibly close to the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands that are dotted with penguin rookeries and fur seal haul-outs. This gives a full overlap between the fishery and the foraging ranges of land-based predators like the penguins (Gentoo, Chinstrap, Adelie and Macaroni), which cannot move to other locations.

“Even if there is still plenty of Krill around, both predators and fishing vessels will concentrate on the highest densities and therefore directly compete. The surrounding waters are cruised by seven species of Baleen whales. The ice floes in these waters function as resting places for Crabeater and Leopard seals. All these animals depend directly or indirectly on Krill as their food source. The true seals have flourished and the fur seals were able to bounce back from near-extinction when the Antarctic waters were emptied of the Krill-gorging baleen whales during the whaling era (early 1900s until the 1980s). The competition eliminated, more food became available for them, but a decline in Krill will eventually hit all animals in the Antarctic, even flying birds and fish, and will prevent the great whales from returning to pre-exploitation numbers.

“Krill is called the single largest under-utilized commercial marine resource remaining, because the global quota set is not yet reached, but expansion of the fishery seems inevitable. The fishery was kept in check by the distance and inhospitality of Antarctica’s waters, the fact that Krill are highly perishable once killed and that consumer interest was limited. Aquaculture feed demand is on the rise however, rapid on-board processing techniques have dealt with the quick spoiling and new products are being developed. The Krill fishery is the continuation of a trend in the history of fishing. We fish further and further away from home and we fish further and further down the food chain. You can’t get much further away as Antarctica and you can’t get much further down the food webfood web The totality of interacting food chains in an ecological community than Krill. We are reaching the end. “Throughout its history the fisheries have proven that what can be fished will be fished until collapse. They have shown to be incapable of self-regulation, constraint, common sense and decency. They and their political backers have always shunned warnings, ignored or watered-down scientific recommendations and dismissed evidence of their destructive practices. They have always been driven by only one impulse: insatiable greed.

“There is no reason to expect that the fate of krill will be different. As other fisheries worldwide are over-exploited and profits dwindle, more companies and nations will look for new ‘virgin’ stocks to reap and one day also the set quota for Krill will be reached. With more investments, there will be higher stakes and political pressure will build to increase catch quota and to open up new areas. The so-called conservation organizations will become industry, politicians controlled and the fisheries will speed with eyes wide shut towards disaster as they always have.

“There is still time to right the missed chance in the Antarctic Treaty. Where the continent is for now safe from exploitation for minerals or military use, the seas surrounding it should also be protected from all exploitation. The CCAMLR region should be turned into a zero-catch marine reserve.

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