Tempers are flaring as environmental activists go head-to-head with big business in Antarctica over the humble krill, a marine creature similar to a shrimp.
Typically, krill grow to about 6cm long. Small they may be, but their numbers are mind-boggling. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates there are 700-trillion krill in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean alone.
They are the primary source of food for many marine species, including whales, penguins and seals. A single blue whale can consume 3.6-million of them in a day.
But humans harvest krill as a food source for salmon farms and livestock, and they are also used in health products. According to reports, 620,000t of krill were harvested last year, and conservationists fear that increasing commercial exploitation, along with climate change, could endanger whales and other animals that rely on the tiny creatures.
“Environmentalists have been documenting and exposing this destruction year after year since 2018, but documentation alone has not stopped it,” said the Canadian-American veteran eco-activist Paul Watson. “The time for taking photos is long over. At some point you have to say enough is enough.”
Lamya Essemlali, campaign leader of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation’s (CPWF’s) Operation Krill Wars, emphasised the urgency of the mission. “Fishing for krill is an ecological time bomb,” she said. “Nothing can justify targeting a keystone species on which the entire Antarctic ecosystem depends.
“Krill is a foundational species, serving as the primary food for most marine life. Without krill the entire food chain would collapse.”
Krill also “act as a crucial carbon sink, capturing and storing a staggering 12Gt (billion tonnes) of carbon annually. As krill vanish, so too will the whales and much of the Earth’s ability to stabilise its climate.”
According to the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund, about 400Mt of krill live in the Southern Ocean. “Key breeding areas are located where the fishery operates. This area has experienced major warming over the last 50 years, and as a result, the extent and duration of winter sea ice is being reduced. This represents an important challenge in the management of the krill fishery.”
Earlier this year a 65m CPWF vessel, the Bandero, left Melbourne, Australia, bound for Chile. It then ploughed its way to the stormy Southern Ocean. After a month-long voyage, it came face to face with two commercial supertrawlers belonging to the Aker BioMarine and Aker Qrill companies based in Norway. Using special instruments on long ropes, the crew of the Bandero were able to systematically sabotage the trawlers’ krill nets.
“During the encounter the CPWF obstructed their ecologically damaging activities to defend the primary food source of the Antarctic,” said Essemlali.
“This mission is built on what we call aggressive nonviolence, directly intervening to stop destruction while ensuring no harm comes to human life,” said Watson. “Our foundation and the crew of the Bandero are acting in accordance with the UN’s World Charter for Nature to oppose the destructive krill fishery.”
A claim that the Bandero rammed one of the two Norwegian ships was met with derision by Watson, who said they had merely executed a “gentle but deliberate nudge to the stern of the Antarctic Sea [trawler], accompanied by a message: ‘Stop despoiling the ecological integrity of the Southern Ocean’. No damage was caused. No crew was threatened.”
Watson claimed that both of the Norwegian ships had attempted to “prop-foul” the Bandero — “a far more dangerous act”.
The intervention lasted five hours. During this period, penguins, seals and whales were spotted in the vicinity; a reminder that this part of the Southern Ocean provides a valuable feeding ground for many important species. Yet the area is awash with trawlers from nearby Chile and from countries as far afield as Namibia, Norway, China, Ukraine and South Korea. “But now Norway is advocating increasing the catch limit to 1.2Mt,” said Essemlali.
A couple of days later the Bandero and the two Norwegian ships faced each other again. After a lengthy intervention the trawlers gave up. Watson says they turned off their automatic identification system (AIS) trackers and left the area.
Global supertrawlers are not the only problem facing Antarctica and its precious residents. According to the South African National Antarctic Programme (Sanap), the area is already suffering the effects of climate change — the loss of sea ice, which is essential for the survival of krill and rising ocean temperatures.
Aker BioMarine says on its website that it is the world’s leading supplier of natural krill ingredients for human health and nutrition. A spokesperson said: “We fish krill because it matters for heart health, brain function and healthy ageing.”
Aker BioMarine CEO Matts Johansen denied his company had requested a doubling of krill quotas in the Southern Ocean. He said governance of the ecologically sensitive area was up to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has 27 member countries, and future plans for the region would be based on thorough research by scientists from each region.
He said they were currently working on managing fisheries and creating marine protected areas before deciding on the most appropriate quotas. Among the members of CCAMLR are South Africa, Namibia and Norway.
Essemlali said the ultimate goal of Operation Krill Wars was to encourage international debate about the legitimacy of krill trawling in Antarctica.
“The scientific warnings are not being taken into account; meanwhile the general public is not aware what is at stake,” she said. “If we don’t act now, we risk collapsing a food chain that whales, penguins and seals depend on for survival. Humankind’s future is dependent on healthy oceans. It’s time for everyone to wake up and stand strong against this ecological crime. We cannot afford to lose Antarctica.”
Watson said: “Our purpose is to uphold international conservation law, to act when governments refuse to take action, to challenge the disregard for laws and to establish a legal precedent for intervention for the High Seas Treaty [which applies to areas of the ocean beyond national borders for the protection of biodiversity].
“We must act quickly — save the krill, save the whales and ultimately save ourselves.”
Zolile Nqayi, speaking for the department of forestry, fisheries & the environment, said: “South Africa has a great interest in the status of the krill population in the Southern Ocean and is a strong proponent of sustainable use of all marine resources in order to ensure ecosystem integrity is maintained.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.