The Antarctic krill fishery reached its catch limit early for the first time in its history, forcing the fishery to close four months ahead of schedule in August 2025. Although the overall catch limit of 620,000 tonnes was designed to protect krill stocks, the lapse of zone-specific restrictions allowed more than 57% of the annual catch to be concentrated in a single area around the Antarctic Peninsula, where many penguins, seals and whales depend on krill for food. CCAMLR, the international body responsible for managing the fishery, has repeatedly failed to reach consensus on renewing these spatial limits or establishing a proposed marine protected area for the region.
The fishery supplies krill for omega-3 supplements and fish farm feed, with Norwegian company Aker QRILL accounting for 62.6% of the total catch over the past decade. While conservation groups have challenged the fishery’s sustainability certification, industry representatives are increasingly involved in efforts to broker agreement between governments. The debate continues over whether these negotiations will deliver meaningful conservation outcomes for the Southern Ocean.
Read the full article on Oceanographic.