China now has nearly double the krill-fishing capacity of Norway, which is the next top krill-fishing nation in the world, according to Tharos, a Chile-based krill-fishing consultancy firm.
According to Tharos data, China’s krill-fishing fleet has grown to 21,707 metric tons (MT) in carrying capacity. By contrast, the scale of Norway’s krill fleet is 11,388 MT, including the 3,000 MT of capacity expected from the Jan Mayen vessel bought by Aker QRILL Company, which is due to enter service in 2026. Other major krill-fishing nations include South Korea, which has around 3,000 MT of capacity, Ukraine with 1,800 MT of capacity, and Chile with 1,738 MT.
China’s capacity is likely to increase even further in the near future as municipalities in China such as Zhangzhou have begun offering subsidies that will be put toward purchasing new Antarctic krill-fishing vessels as part of a support package to expand the region’s distant-water fleet.
Additionally, China has instituted measures to more heavily market krill products to the public.
At a December 2024 meeting of the China Distant-Water Fishing Association’s krill committee, the state-owned Liaoyu Group, which operates a krill vessel, signed a strategic agreement to establish the country's first Antarctic Krill Biomedical Industry Innovation Institute, which would push the health benefits of krill-derived products to the Chinese public.
Other nations like India are also planning to enter the fishery by the end of this year, Tharos CEO Dmitri Sclabos told SeafoodSource, prompting concerns of future overfishing in the fragile Antarctic marine ecosystem.
“While current total catches may seem modest relative to biomass estimates, risks are significant,” he said. “Climate change has come to stay, amplifying vulnerability. Market and industry drivers will raise pressure. High-value markets and improved oil extraction technologies increase economic incentives to raise the fishing effort.”
Many were hopeful that 2025 would see a consensus on new krill-fishing catch limits in the Antarctic, but as of now, updated limits are voluntarily self-enforced by the industry.
“From my decades in this industry, my conclusion is clear: Any sustainable path forward must be anchored in transparent science, enforceable quotas, and genuine multinational oversight,” Sclabos said. “Without these, geopolitical competition, exemplified by China’s expansion, will drive the fishery beyond safe ecological limits, jeopardizing both conservation and long-term industry viability.”
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), recently closed the Antarctic krill fishery for the season after vessels quickly caught the 620,000-MT limit.
