After hitting a stalemate on negotiations in October 2024, members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the fishing industry at large are hoping that they can reach a deal soon on krill-fishing catch limits in the Antarctic.
The October meeting of the CCAMLR – the regulatory body overseeing krill fishing in the Antarctic – ended at an impasse after representatives from China and Russia vetoed a demand to create a new marine protected area and cut krill-fishing levels below 395,000 metric tons (MT) in the key krill-fishing area of the Antarctic – Zone 48.1 – a figure which most members had agreed to.
Pål Skogrand, the vice president for policy and impact at Norway-based Aker QRILL Company, said most CCAMLR members and industry representatives supported the 395,000-MT limit in Zone 48.1, “but some members wanted something more precautionary, and China was not among that minority of members.”
“What was put on the table [at the meeting] was a good proposal which had wide support from scientists, industry, NGOs, and regulators,” he said. “Perhaps this is one step back, which is sometimes needed to make two steps forward.”
The 395,000-MT limit was itself 255 percent higher than current fishing levels in the zone, but krill-fishing companies have stressed that extraction levels are low in the context of the overall scale of the biomass.
“Looking at smaller scales, scientific research has estimated a biomass of around 20 million MT to 25 million MT in 48.1 alone,” Skogrand said. “You will struggle to find any fishery in the world that takes out less than 1 percent [to 2 percent] from the biomass it is targeting.”
The Pew Charitable Trusts cautioned that the longer it takes to implement new conservation measures, the more it is endangering krill stocks and the wildlife which rely on them for food.
In lieu of formalized conservation measures, the industry has been enforcing voluntary measures in Zone 48.1 since 2019, which include no-take zones that keep krill harvesting 30 to 40 kilometers away from breeding penguin colonies.
Pew Southern Ocean Conservation Project Director Andrea Kavanagh described the voluntary guidelines as “a great first step,” but noted that they do not substitute codified regulations...