Biomass
Fisheries management
Antarctic ecosystem
Climate
Krill (Euphausia superba)
Adjusting the Management of the Antarctic Krill Fishery to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century
Summary
This perspective article addresses critical gaps in Antarctic krill fishery management as CCAMLR faces unprecedented challenges. With krill catches reaching record highs of 0.5 million tons in 2024 and the loss of spatial catch restrictions, the authors propose implementing a "Krill Stock Hypothesis" framework to revolutionize management approaches. The paper demonstrates how fishing vessels can serve as valuable data collection platforms while highlighting the urgent need for industry-science collaboration and sustainable funding mechanisms. The research emphasizes that current management relies on 25-year-old biomass data and fails to account for climate change impacts on krill populations.
Key Findings
1
CCAMLR failed to renew spatial catch limits in 2024, removing all geographic restrictions on 0.62 Mt annual quota2
Current management based solely on historical catches and single 2000 biomass survey from 25 years ago3
Krill fishery reached record 0.5 Mt catch in 2024, with concentrated fishing pressure in ecologically sensitive areas4
Fishing vessels can provide critical real-time data on krill demographics, distribution, and predator interactions5
Industry-science collaboration essential for sustainable long-term monitoring and data collection6
Climate change and recovering whale populations increasing pressure on krill stocks and fishery sustainability7
Proposed "Krill Stock Hypothesis" framework integrates ecological factors, spawning patterns, and habitat connectivity8
Need for multisector funding model combining government, industry, and NGO resources for researchAbstract
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is the central prey species in the Southern Ocean food web, supporting the largest and fastest-growing fishery in the region, managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Climate change is threatening krill populations and their predators, while current catch limits do not take into account climate variability or krill population dynamics. In 2024, CCAMLR was unable to renew its spatial catch limits, highlighting the urgent need for improved management of the krill fishery to prevent any harm to the Southern Ocean ecosystem. To address this, we propose a management framework that integrates variability in krill recruitment and key pathways between spawning and nursery areas—a krill stock hypothesis—to inform decisions on catch limits and conservation measures.Published in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
2025Authors
Bettina Meyer, Javier A. Arata, Angus Atkinson, Dominik Bahlburg, Kim Bernard, César A. Cárdenas, Susie M. Grant, Simeon L. Hill, Lukas Hüppe, Taro Ichii, So Kawaguchi, Bjørn A. Krafft, Sara Labrousse, Dale Maschette, Andrea Piñones, Christian Reiss, Bernd Siebenhüner, Zephyr Sylvester, Philippe ZieglerInstitutions
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, GermanyAssociation of Responsible Krill Harvesting Companies, AustraliaPlymouth Marine Laboratory, United KingdomOregon State University, USAInstituto Antártico Chileno, ChileBritish Antarctic Survey, United KingdomAustralian Antarctic Division, AustraliaInstitute of Marine Research, NorwayMultiple other international institutions
Methods
AcousticBiological sampling DataFieldCase
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